‘one In A Million’: Tributes Paid To Matt Beard At Memorial Service In Liverpool

Family, friends, players and fans gathered to salary their respects to nan erstwhile Liverpool Women head Matt Beard connected Friday arsenic he was laid to remainder astatine a memorial work successful “the metropolis he saw arsenic his home”.

Some had flown from overseas to subordinate Beard’s wife, Debbie, children Harry and Ellie, stepson Scott, and mother, Margaret, astatine Liverpool’s Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral. Others had travelled aft games and training for a work which celebrated a pioneering fig successful women’s football, who died past month, aged 47.

As Beard’s coffin, draped successful 2 Liverpool scarves, was carried into Sir Frederick Gibberd’s modernist “cathedral for a caller world”, it was flanked by a 50-strong phalanx of existent and erstwhile players who had played nether him, galore from Liverpool and West Ham. They were joined by Liverpool Women’s first-team squad, on pinch nan caput coach, Gareth Taylor, and his coaching staff, and nan club’s sporting director, Richard Hughes.

In an affectional eulogy, Mark Beard called his relative a “beautiful psyche and a one-in-a-million personality” who “always recovered a measurement to make you laughter and smile”.

Beard, he said, had gone into women’s shot soon aft moving into coaching successful his 20s erstwhile an wounded trim short a playing profession and had “never looked back”, becoming 1 of nan game’s “most inspirational managers”. Beard started his coaching astatine Millwall Lionesses successful 2008, later taking complaint of Chelsea, Liverpool complete 2 spells, West Ham United and Burnley. He became Liverpool Women’s astir successful manager, starring them to back-to-back Women’s Super League titles successful 2013 and 2014.

Liverpool players Beata Olsson (left) and Cornelia Kapocs get astatine nan memorial service. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

“He won everything location was to win, but much important than nan titles was what he brought to people,” he said.

An inquest confirmed past period that Beard had died by suicide, and his relative paid tribute to unit astatine nan Countess of Chester hospital, wherever Beard was treated, and nan metropolis of Liverpool, which he said had supported nan family successful their grief. “Please, please, please fto Matt’s passing beryllium a instruction to america all,” he said. “We are each human, truthful beryllium much thoughtful.”

Beard’s family requested that alternatively of flowers, gestures of remembrance beryllium made done donations to a intelligence wellness charity, and nan moving bid for nan work had nan interaction specifications of support services including nan Samaritans, nan National Suicide Prevention Helpline and nan peer-to-peer support group Andy’s Man Club.

Current and erstwhile players joined coaches, pundits and fans successful nan cathedral, including Emma Hayes, nan erstwhile Chelsea and existent US women’s nationalist squad coach, and footballers including England’s Lucy Bronze, Liverpool’s Gemma Bonner and Arsenal’s Olivia Smith. Liverpool men’s all-time apical goalscorer, Ian Rush, besides attended nan service, alongside Manchester United Women’s caput coach, Marc Skinner.

That group had travelled from acold and wide was testament to Beard’s value to nan women’s game, said nan commentator Jacqui Oatley. “Matt was conscionable specified a typical person, and he was truthful important successful nan improvement of nan women’s crippled successful this country,” she said.

Current Liverpool Women’s head Gareth Taylor arriving astatine nan memorial work for Matt Beard. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

The erstwhile Liverpool and England guardant Natasha Dowie, who won 2 WSL titles nether Beard and returned to Liverpool during his 2nd play astatine nan club, said aft nan work that he had treated everyone pinch nan aforesaid warmth and kindness, whether they were a main executive aliases a fan.

“How will Matt beryllium remembered?” she said. “A cheeky smile, personification that made you laugh, a shine successful his eyes, an ‘All right, darling’, a large hug, which made you consciousness for illustration a cardinal dollars. He was a begetter fig … and I was very fortunate to person played nether him.”

Beard was a “kind, caring, funny, cheeky” man, who had a existent effect connected everyone he met, said nan Canada caput coach and erstwhile Liverpool subordinate Casey Stoney. His death, she said, had to beryllium a infinitesimal for group crossed shot to recognise nan value of reaching retired for help. “But I deliberation nan biggest effect I dream group return from this is that we’re each quality and we each request thief sometimes and we each request to talk,” Stoney said. “I dream group commencement taking nan clip to get retired of their engaged lives and scope out. I wish I had done much of that.”

As Beard’s coffin was led retired of nan cathedral to a backstage ceremonial wherever he would beryllium laid to rest, fans raised scarves and joined Beard’s niece Lucy for an elegiac rendition of Liverpool’s nine anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone. He was, said nan Liverpool Women instrumentality Michael Smith, a head who had made fans consciousness for illustration portion of his family, coming connected to protagonist coaches and giving retired signed shirts from nan players. “He was an icon successful nan women’s crippled and successful this city,” he said. “But he was truthful bully pinch everyone he met. He wasn’t conscionable a manager, it was for illustration he was a friend.”