Matt Beard remembered, WSL latest and Mercury13’s big move – Women’s Football Weekly

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:30all the fantastic tributes. Aitana Bonmati reigns supreme, winning the Ballon d 'Or for a third time. We'll give you our thoughts on that. And we'll be speaking to Mercury 13 co-founder Victoire Kojovina-Reynal as the group announced they're now majority shareholders at Bristol City Women. All that plus we'll take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

0:56What a panel we have today. Susie Rack, happy birthday to you, belated. Happy birthday to me, yeah. Nice weekend off, apart from obviously the horrific news. Yes, absolutely. Tom, we'll discuss that in a second, but how are you?

1:10Faye Carruthers:I'm okay, thank you, yeah. In the midst of NCT classes, learning all about how to change nappies and learning a lot, I think. So, yeah, it's been a really tough weekend for sure. But no, I thank you to Susie's just given me some very helpful advice about about baby poo. So we can take that onwards with happiness in the course of the week. I feel awful that we're actually talking about about that right at the top of the pod. But we did spend about 15 minutes because Ted, my little boy, came in and said, Mommy, I need a poo just before we were about to start recording, which has then meant that we've just been talking about that for the last 10 minutes.

1:52Sophie Downey, how are you doing?

1:54Tom Garry:I'm good, thank you. Just recovering from a weekend in the North West, as Tom said, a very tough weekend. So long journey up, long journey back, but it was a good weekend. Yeah, it has been a really tough weekend and that is where we're going to start. There is nowhere else to start, really. The women's football world shocked on Saturday evening to learn the devastating news that Matt Beard had passed away at the age of 47. Our thoughts, obviously, with his wife, Debbie, children, family and close friends as well. We all knew him and anybody who worked with him knew him affectionately as Beardy.

2:29He was a stalwart of the sport as well, hugely successful on the field, widely loved, respected off of it. In terms of his career, if you didn't know, he started off at Millwall, went on to manage Chelsea in the pre-Emma Hayes era, went to Liverpool twice, Boston Breakers as well, West Ham, Bristol City and most recently Burnley. He brought unprecedented success to Liverpool during his first spell at the club. They had back-to-back WSL titles and he went back there in 2021, leading them back into the top flight, winning the championship in his first season. And if you remember as well, against all odds, he led both Chelsea and West Ham to the FA Cup finals.

3:11But it's perhaps his work behind the scenes where he had the biggest impact. You just need to look at the tributes posted all over social media and at various points in broadcasts, etc. this weekend to understand the lasting impact that he had on so many people. How many careers that he helped, how much he genuinely cared about the women's game and how much he genuinely cared about those who work within it. it was just such tough news to get Susie.

3:41Suzy Wrack:Yeah really shocking news you know nothing anyone expected to hear and it really really really difficult to hear because so many knew him and I think you know the outpouring on social media has shown the depth of feeling towards him as a person and a manager how like utterly adored he was and yeah all of our interactions with him you know as journalists like for me have been nothing but brilliant um I always really admired the way he handled like speaking to the press after defeats and particularly really heavy defeats because there was always this like real like honest humbleness and like weariness like a lack of resources and like having to battle with so little which is was so often the case for him and his teams and you know I was really lucky in that when he was at West Ham I got invited he agreed that I could come and watch an entire behind closed doors training session with just me sat there in the stands ahead of the game I was covering which was their game quite complete access to all their tactical insight watching him on the training pitch like right in the middle of things literally placing players taking players by the shoulders and moving them into the position he wanted them to be in and then talking through it and obviously being really loud and vocal but like a real like you know there's a lot made of his character as a people person and someone who was really really good at understanding players and and getting the best out of them in that sense and of you know recruiting really well but like his tactical brain was phenomenal too and yeah it's just devastating news I'm really glad to see the crowdfunder for to raise money for his funeral and for his family moving forward has done so well and again speaks to the depth of feeling around him.

5:39Faye Carruthers:Yeah, one thing you said actually there, Susie, reminds me of a moment, I think it was four or five years ago and his team had just had quite a bad defeat and one of the staff members was talking to me and said, oh, I hope you're going to be kind in your match report. And Beardy just jumped in and was like, no, no, we were crap. You need to say we were crap. you know it's about like driving the standards and stuff and i mentioned that because he really had a lot of respect for this profession and the media and he did a lot he had a lot of time for all of us who worked in the media and that's really important to say he really going way way back going all the way back to to you know the early years before before wsl and in those early wsl years with journalists who covered his teams then i remember they saying the same thing and look on a personal level this still doesn't really feel real you know the last time we spoke earlier this month we were making plans for a beer which has not happened but it doesn't really feel like it's true yet but obviously the kind of shock and sadness that we're feeling will be nothing in comparison to his family so our love all goes out to them and I hope they are heartened by the tributes that have been flooding in from all over the world of women's football and I think what people have spoken to in the last couple of days it's noticeable how even if you didn't play for him you appeared to really love him but those who did play for him frequently wanted to sign for his next clubs again you know there are so many examples of players who followed him from club to club and wanted to carry on playing under him because they saw him as like a big brother and that kind of tells you everything you need to know about how well he was thought of with his players so um it'd be dearly dearly missed and and on a football level if i could just add a few bits and bobs there are it's really worth remembering how many clubs he helped transform uh faye mentioned this at the start you know but that was chelsea's first cup final, which if you think about that now, that's sort of hard to imagine, right?

7:34Faye Carruthers:But Chelsea, he took them to their first cup final. West Ham, he took them to their first cup final. And realistically, since then, they've never had such a good day as that. And obviously, Liverpool will be where he'll be most sorely missed, not only a two-time WSL winner and winning them promotion back up to the WSL, but somebody who gave a lot of time to the supporters. I was always keen to meet them for a drink down the pub and I think will be remembered for a very, very, very long time.

8:07Tom Garry:Yeah, I'm not going to rehash what Tom and Susie have said because they've said it so well, but I guess just more maybe on a personal note. I've known Matt on and off for the last 13 years of my life, you know, bumping into him at football grounds here and there, interviewing him post-match. he was very very supportive of our journey mine and Rachel's with Girls in the Ball he would always check in when he saw us always give us a hug or write safe or write Rach and to think that that's not going to be there anymore is kind of hard I think it's testament to him as well that I just will think about that press conference at Man United for a long time on Sunday you know it's a very emotional press conference with Mark Skinner and I think that just shows how much he impacted not just the people he worked with day to day but the people who came across him every weekend covering us in media and stuff like that and there was a lot of emotion.

9:02Tom Garry:I shout out Mark Skinner as well because he made sure that we were all okay afterwards. He came around and gave us all a big hug and I think that's a testament to him as well. But yeah, it's a very, very sad weekend and yeah, it doesn't feel real.

9:19Faye Carruthers:Sophie mentioning that game there reminds me just the immense respect that I think we all have for Scott Rogers and Joe Potts, who obviously worked under Beardy and were there in front of the cameras as staff members at Man United, obviously really, really finding that tough. And the same to Olivia Smith and Taylor Hines, who played, and it must have been such emotional circumstances. And I think to all four of them and everyone else who, you know, carried on so professionally amid such grief, I think that will always stick with me and how strong they were to go through on Sunday and play and work in such a professional way.

9:56Faye Carruthers:Immense respect to them because that was not an easy day for anybody. Yeah, and that's exactly what people have said. That's what Matt would have wanted them to do as well. And there were tributes everywhere across the grounds, as you would expect on Sunday, a moment of silence and applause in the 47th minute while Liverpool's fixture against Aston Villa was postponed at the request of the players, many of whom had obviously played with him for many years. and you couldn't expect them to turn out and play like that. And obviously the football feels really trivial in these kind of circumstances, but there were fixtures on Sunday and we are going to go through them.

10:35And of course, when you think of the legacy that Matt Beard leaves, there's not a club really that he hasn't touched in some way. And we're going to start at Lee because, as Soph said, amazing tributes from Mark Skinner. but Olivia Smith who you just mentioned Tom was brought to England by Matt Beard last season named in the starting 11 for Arsenal's trip up to Manchester United. Taylor Hines former Liverpool vice captain on the bench and Renee Slagers spoke about her pride in them as well after the game. Goalless draw is how it ended. Record crowd actually at Leesports Village. Really as you'd maybe expect Susie not that much attacking quality few clear-cut chances the defences really came out on top on both just four shots in total

11:23Suzy Wrack:in the entire game what did you make of it yeah not a great game for me to watch as a fan uh being off this weekend as friday was my birthday i sat down thinking oh you know great day of football i'll watch the women's arsenal game and then i'll watch the men's arsenal game and we'll all be happy and both were pretty crap from uh from an arsenal point of view but you know it is what it is I think you know United have an exceptional defence are really well organised I'm not sure I agree with the tactic of starting Cena Blackstanius and Alessio Russo together like I you know fine to experiment with that like it's not been tried very regularly so why not give it a go but I think Arsenal really lost some of their of their players that really stretched the game off the bench when they started both Blackstanius and Olivia Smith and I think that maybe then cost because then you then have to take those players off for others instead of having the players that are going to come on and stretch the game.

12:21Suzy Wrack:So I think that was maybe something that they'll reflect on a little bit. Story of resilient defence is ultimately it, but a pretty boring game for someone to sit at home and watch. Yeah, René Slager's odd decision according to Susie Sofe, but also maybe an odd decision for Mark Skinner as well. Elizabeth Turland scored a hat-trick in midweek, but Mark Skinner opted for Melvin Mallard instead. What did you make of that?

12:48Tom Garry:Yeah, I think he wanted to try and attack the spaces behind Arsenal's defence and try and hit them with her speed. She's obviously in good form as well at the moment but it was a surprise because of the kind of form that Elizabeth Terland had showed. She was so good in that game against S.T.A. Brown so it was a bit of a surprise in that respect. I do think Mark Skinner kind of called Renée Sleggers bluff. I just remember the post-match against Eske Brann. And he literally said, Renee Slegers is going to start with Stina Blackstanias. She always starts with Stina Blackstanias up front against us.

13:21Tom Garry:And she did. So I think they were very prepared for it in that respect. They were both looking to get in behind the defences. Both defences managed it pretty well. Big shout out to Katie Reid as well, who was phenomenal in the back line, as was Letizia down the other end. So I think that was the story of the day. But there wasn't great quality of the game, to be honest. I know the defending was good, but in terms of the attacking product, you would have probably expected a little bit more. Yeah, Elizabeth Turland had done her job midweek because United actually came into this fixture on the back of a history-making week, reaching the Champions League for the first time after beating SK Brand 3-0 in qualifying, Tom.

14:01Massive moment for the club and for Mark Skinner as well. What could this kind of confidence boost do for their season?

14:08Faye Carruthers:Yeah, a history moment for the club. And I think really crucial to their season, I think, if they hadn't qualified for the group stage, there would have been that underlying tone of disappointment throughout everything else that had come afterwards, no matter what they'd achieved. So it's a big step for them. And I think our worries will still remain, though, about whether they have the depth on the bench to contend with the extra matches. They're going to rotate between Turland and Mallard, which in attack is a great option to have. but we're already starting to see some of the thin areas. I thought Celine Bizet did very well, actually, against Arsenal, covering at right back.

14:46Faye Carruthers:That was a very good performance from her, you know, against such good Arsenal wingers to help them keep a clean sheet. But, you know, that's clearly not the ideal situation that you would want to have as your backup at right back going into a Champions League campaign. But it's important to be positive in this answer because they did play very well against Brown. They thoroughly deserve to go through. and I think they're certainly the danger team in that third pot of teams for sure and all the teams who have drawn to play against Manchester United have a difficult draw because they certainly do not have a gimme from their pot three opponent so I think they'll cause a few problems for lots of teams in the Champions League and I'm looking forward to seeing how they get on Yeah, me too Manchester City travelled to London it was a comfortable 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur who perhaps came a bit more down to earth with a bump it was a scare though in the first half Lauren Hemp forced off with an ankle injury despite that though a dominant attacking performance from City which just shows their depth really doesn't it Susie?

15:46Suzy Wrack:Yeah it really does which you know is a pleasure to see after a year of them struggling with like severe injuries and things like that a real positive start some lovely play dominant I think this is the sort of performance we expect for them when they've got their players fit and it's good to see it back that way Martin Ho looked pretty frustrated Tom I have to say his side's defence just collapsed a little bit didn't they is there cause for concern should they go back to the drawing board or is this just a little hiccup

16:22Faye Carruthers:there'll be defensive issues that they'll want to address for sure that is a concern but I wouldn't say big panic they performed very well in the two games they would have targeted winning out of those first three fixtures kept clean sheets in those and played very well at everton so that they were going to be teething problems it's still a very early days and they've also really still not got the squad to challenge for a top sort of four spot so i don't think they should overreact to the defeat and you know they've won the games that will they'll be judged more on so i don't want to be too critical.

16:57Faye Carruthers:It was poor performance, but if you'd offer them six points from their first three matches, I think they would have snapped your arm off. So they've done well.

17:05Suzy Wrack:It's the same with London City's first two games, right? They're not the games that are going to define any of the team outside the top three or four season, right? Like, you know, London City come off the back of that and get the win against Everton. Like there's going to be bad results against the top three. They're that far ahead. And yet 5-1 to City is going to hurt, but it's never going to be the result that defines their season. I think you can get your head down about a defeat more, a close defeat to someone in and around where you are, more than you would necessarily in a game like this, despite the fact that the result is so frustrating and big, because the gap is so big for me.

17:49Well, you mentioned London City Lionesses. Soph was at Goodison Park on Friday for their first win in the WSL, 2-1 victory over Everton. Isabel Goodwin scoring a brace. Jukka Mamiki pulled one back from the spot to make it a nervy finish in the end. But how impressed were you, Soph, with London City's performance and what's happening at Everton?

18:09Tom Garry:I think it's both sides just taking a bit of time to come together. I think London City did really well on the night. They started really well. They've got Isabel Goodwin up and firing and we all know what kind of talent she is in terms of what she can do. and it was only a matter of time before she opened her account in the Barclays WSL. She is such a good young talent and I'm so excited for her to come through the England ranks as well. Just completely instinctive but got so many different aspects of her game. She can play out wide, she can play up front and she really leads that line and she's played every single minute for London City so far.

18:43Tom Garry:That kind of shows what she's all about. I think Jocelyn Pressure was very much about finding the right pieces and that's going to take him time to get things working, get things cohesive. So it's a matter of just time for them. I think the same could be said for Everton. Brian Sorensen said nine new signings as well. He's still figuring out everything about it. They probably, I think Tom said in the post-match press conference, if they'd been 10 minutes longer, I think Everton probably would have found the equaliser. They were on the ascendancy in that final 20 minutes of the game. They performed really, really well.

19:17Tom Garry:They just couldn't find the back of the net. but I think for Brian Sorensen the worry will be the slow starts they keep making slow starts they keep being on the back foot and having to claw themselves back into games and sometimes leaving it too late so I think for both it's just a figuring out process I'm not too worried about like for Everton I think it will come good you can see the signs there and I think London City will continue to build Brighton building as well their first win of the season two beating West Ham by four goals to one It was a real clinical attacking display, actually, from Brighton, Susie.

19:51Four different goal scorers, which they'll be pleased with. Is this where they lift off?

19:57Suzy Wrack:Yeah, I think so. I think things are starting to click. It was great to see Rosa Caffagi on the score sheet after making her first start for the side. Obviously, you know, difficult season last year on the bench for Arsenal for most of the season, coming on very, very occasionally. So it's nice to see her sort of start to get some game time in the WSL and build up that experience. and things. I thought Michelle Adjaman, while she's still not got a goal, was a real handful, causing all kinds of problems and forcing errors that led to some of the goals, including Kofadji's. And I also thought Frank Kirby was an absolute menace and absolutely everywhere.

20:33Suzy Wrack:And it's quite wonderful to see a player who is surely at some point coming to the end of her career like roll back the years and be as good as she was you know sort of five ten years ago even and yeah a real impressive performance so to have you know four different goal scorers um and you know such a comfortable victory and you know so many players sort of stepping up and seeming so cohesive i think they'll be really really happy with that vivian asahi had made it to one um on 51 minutes, Tom, but ultimately, again, they capitulated West Ham. They're bottom of the table without a point yet. Are they panicking, do you think?

21:18What's going through Rianne Skinner's head at the minute?

21:21Faye Carruthers:There's still a lot of time. I really don't think they should be panicking. But the worry I would have is how vulnerable they look defensively. I don't think I was alone in thinking that they would be really exciting to watch this season going forward. and that hasn't really come to fruition yet either. I think I will hold judgment until we've seen them have a couple more opportunities. But yeah, it's the back line looking so leaky. That would be my concern for West Ham. Well, listen, can I just say that nobody reserved judgment on Leicester at the beginning of the season? I think everybody tipped them to go down.

21:57And actually, although it was a defeat to Chelsea, it was a very narrow defeat, just the one goal. and I think everybody would have expected this game to have ended in Chelsea's attacking line having great fun. As it was, it was just Aggie Beaver-Jones on the score sheet in the seventh minute. What did you make of it, Soph?

22:15Tom Garry:I think Leicester, as Tom's said, have got their defence figured out. I think they are very hard to break down. They're so resilient. They work really hard for each other. They know how to pack the box as well, which makes it hard for any shots to come off. You would, as you said, expect Chelsea to come out on top. I think it just shows the work that Leicester have done over the last year in terms of the off-the-ball stuff that doesn't often get praised, the out-of-possession stuff. They regularly, I mean, actually, they register something like 46 % possession in this game, which is crazy for them when they averaged 36 % possession the whole of last season.

22:51Tom Garry:That's actually one of their highest possession stats. So the fact that they came to King's Meadow and did that, I think, is impressive. I think for Leicester, for me, it's about finding the right personnel up front. If you're going to play that out-of-possession game where you're looking to hit people on the counter, yes, it's great to have the speed of the wingers that they have, but they do need a target player. But yeah, positive signs for them. I think they are better than I thought they would be. For Chelsea, I think it's a question of things clicking together. Sonia has said they're adjusting things, they're working things out still.

23:25Tom Garry:I think that's the case they've got a lot of moving parts a lot of pieces of the puzzle a lot of stars to fit into that line-up their one constant at the moment seems to be Aggie Beaver-Jones who is doing the business out front she is really making herself undroppable three goals and three so yeah I think interesting game for both Leicester so nearly equalised in the injury time they hit the bar and that would have been quite something but it was a brilliant save from Hannah Hampton Yeah and we'll discuss Hannah Hampton in a second. That's it for part one. In part two, we'll reflect on the winners of the Ballon d 'Or.