Matt Beard looks out over Liverpool’s historic Melwood training grounds from his corner office. The room, which belonged to Jurgen Klopp before the men’s team left the ground, doesn’t have many personal touches specific to women’s manager Beard, apart from one priceless item hanging on the left wall.
It is a painting of his father Michael, whose death in 2022 was, according to the 46-year-old, the worst time of his life. When the painting comes up in conversation, he takes a moment to collect himself. It was personally painted for Beard by Lee Billiard, his former managing director at Boston Breakers and Bristol City, who is currently head of women’s football at Aston Villa, as a birthday present. Beard’s appreciation for that gesture – he calls Billiard a “great man” – is in line with what his colleagues at Liverpool have been saying about him all day: that he is a “family man” who cares deeply about the people he works with.
“I treat them as if they were my own. It’s important that I pay attention to them. People come first,” Beard says of his staff and players. “Here, no one is above anyone. It’s important to me that everyone feels valued, so I make it a habit to say good morning to everyone when I come in, just to make sure they know, whether they’re in the kitchen, in the physio room or with the ground staff…’ Beard then speaks with great joy about goalkeeping coach Joe Potts and the respective partners of striker Shanice van de Sanden, both of whom recently gave birth. “Your job is your job. Family comes first.”
However, this softer side of Beard disappears completely when he feels that his team is not performing on the grass. That is illustrated when Telegraph Sport gets a rare chance to observe a full training session as Beard prepares his team for Saturday’s Women’s FA Cup quarter-final at home to Leicester City.
“There’s no movement in the second phase, come on,” Beard barks, between several expletives, before turning to assistant performance analyst Noah Sansbury and saying, “I gotta cut that up.” The footage is played the day before the match during the players’ team meeting. Beard’s frustration subsides as the drill, aimed at beating Leicester’s expected press, starts to click later.
‘Melwood has brought us closer together as a team’
Sansbury films the session with a camera on a very high, extendable pole that he can keep well balanced. It is one of a number of new training resources at Melwood, which the football club bought back for the women’s team last year after previously selling the ground to housing developers – last season they shared a training base in Tranmere.
During the session, physical performance coach Danielle Williams receives live GPS data from each player’s trackers, which tracks how far and how fast they run. Inside, state-of-the-art facilities include a sauna, steam room and plunge pool.
“The project consists of a number of phases,” Beard explains of the plans for Melwood. “The next step is to actually install cameras, so that we can film the training from here if necessary [Beard’s office].”
In his first spell as Liverpool manager, Beard led the club to back-to-back Women’s Super League titles in 2013 and 2014, while sharing the pitch with Widnes Vikings. He can’t help but laugh at the contrast in the environment. “Widnes Vikings trained in the morning and we trained in the afternoon. I probably had an office smaller than this for me and all my staff. We had one physio, no doctor. I don’t think I had a general manager for two out of three years. Day and night it is all about the professionalism of the design.
“Melwood has brought us closer together as a team. [When training at Tranmere], the players would probably just come in at the time they wanted and have breakfast together, which made the bond a lot closer. But I also think that because of Melwood’s history it has put a bit of extra responsibility on our shoulders, because of the people who have worked here, played here and trained on these fields. Now we have the opportunity to write our own history here.”
The cafeteria is Beard’s favorite part of the building because of the camaraderie. He starts around 9:30 a.m. with an omelette – one of dozens that the kitchen staff has made to order – and talks enthusiastically about “those little gnocchi things, they were beautiful” that he enjoys for lunch. However, spending the day behind the scenes reveals that this site is about much more than just food.
In the morning, strength and conditioning coach Colm Smith is in the gym, closely monitoring each player’s workload. The top floor of the gym features quotes from Muhammad Ali that are meant to inspire.
The team’s trophy display will be installed in the reception area. Painted on the adjacent walls is an overview of the history of the women’s team and Melwood, where current midfielder Missy Bo Kearns watched the men’s team train as a youngster.
‘It would be great if we could bring our fan base to Wembley’
The rewards on the field appear extensive. Sunday’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa allowed Liverpool to move level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United – they have already collected more points this season than last.
“We’ve made good progress,” Beard said. “Looking at last year there were a lot of challenges, it came down to the injury list at the top end of the pitch. We wanted to make sure history didn’t repeat itself. We have good depth within the squad this year, which has allowed us to move forward, and everyone is just fitting in as if they have been here for years.”
Liverpool have not been to a Women’s FA Cup final for 28 years and if they get past Leicester they would be in their first semi-final for seven years. Beard wants to bring success. “We used the Conti Cup [League Cup] This year something different, because we had more depth. There were players we wanted to use in the Conti Cup to give them minutes, while in the FA Cup we want to go as far as we can. I experienced Wembley with West Ham [as manager in 2019]. It’s an incredible opportunity. And we have a fantastic fan base, so it would be great if we could bring them to Wembley.”
Beard’s affection for the fans has been strengthened by his time away from the club. “When you leave the football club, you realize how special it is. I remember on a fan forum once a fan told a story about his visit to the [2005] men’s final of the Champions League, and how he told his wife that the car was stolen, but it wasn’t. He sold it so he could pay for the flight, the ticket for the final and all that. Football comes first in this city, I’ve never seen anything like it. It is awesome. It’s special to me because it’s a special place, it really is. I love the city, I love the people.”