When the words “breaking news” and football collide, we usually expect transfer drama or a VAR meltdown. But this weekend, the women’s game felt a sucker punch no one saw coming: the sudden passing of Matt Beard at just 47. And at the heart of BBC Sport’s WSL coverage, Fara Williams stepped into the spotlight—not as the wry, sharp pundit we know, but as a grieving former player searching for words. Her tears spoke louder than any tactical breakdown ever could.
Fara Williams remembers her manager
If football is a classroom, then Beard was the teacher who never threw chalk at you, even when you bombed a test. Williams, who helped deliver Liverpool’s back-to-back WSL titles under his watch, recalled his impact with emotion etched across her face. She tried, valiantly, to keep her pundit mask on—but grief doesn’t respect live television schedules. Alex Scott and Steph Houghton flanked her like teammates closing down an attack, but it was clear Beard wasn’t just “her manager.” He was family.
Fara Williams on leadership and legacy
Williams made it plain: this wasn’t about silverware. Beard’s genius lay in human management. He could take a raw recruit and convince her she was destined for Wembley. Fara knew that better than anyone. When she cracked, Scott picked up the baton: “Matt was a leader, a mentor, a manager.” Translation? Beard was the kind of boss you don’t ghost on WhatsApp.
My two cents on Fara Williams and Beard
Let’s be blunt: football chews up managers faster than you can say “injury-time substitution.” Yet Beard left something sturdier than trophies—he left belief. That’s why Williams wept. And honestly? That vulnerability made her more powerful than any stat line. Sometimes the game isn’t about possession percentages. Sometimes it’s about the people who remind you you’re more than your last result.
