This story is also going out on BBC Breakfast this morning and Radio 1, 5 Live, Merseyside and North West Tonight throughout the day.
The Beards are determined that no other manager's family suffer the same pain.
@JoCurrie doing a great, empathetic job with the conversation.
"The managers tend to be overlooked. It's a huge pressure for managers."
Matt Beard's wife Debbie and son Harry are calling for bespoke, targeted mental health support for football managers, for the added pressures that come with the job.
🔥🔥 I’m excited for the fall and to add these ladies to the team, so we can continue to push this program forward an achieve the mission! #FightOnPenn 🔴🔵
❤️ Former @LiverpoolFCW Manager Matt Beard has been inducted into the @BarclaysWSL Hall of Fame.
🏆 Beard, who tragically passed away last year aged 47, won consecutive WSL titles in 2013 and 2014 before leading #LFC back to the top flight during his second spell in 2021.
#BBCFootball #WSL
I’m so here for the Sheffield Wednesday fans continuing to sing when Stoke scored and just completely ignoring their goal😂😂😂
Not one reaction from them, brilliant😂👏�
Back in the States now, reflecting on an unbelievable week in Sheffield…. on behalf of Michael, Tom and myself, I want to thank the wonderful city of Sheffield, the local members of the community we met, the Supporters’ Trust and the Sheffield Wednesday fans for making us feel so incredibly welcome.
We are listening to and collaborating with talented Wednesdayites across the city to ensure we deliver a best in class fan experience. Whilst we continue to work diligently to become stewards of this unique and historic club, please know that we will be doing everything we can in the interest of a “Better Wednesday” and a brighter future for everyone associated with Sheffield Wednesday.
See you soon!
David
#swfc #wawaw #uto @swfc@swfctrust
Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest football clubs in the world, their famous name woven into the tapestry of the game. Formed in 1867, elected to the Football League in 1892, founder members of the Premier League, four times champions of England, three times winners of the FA Cup, and the League Cup once. Such honours may be far back in history but Wednesday remain a powerful force in many lives, in families, communities, in Sheffield and beyond.
It would be devastating to Wednesday supporters and deeply damaging to the reputation of English football if Wednesday lost their membership of the EFL because of the behaviour of an owner in Dejphon Chansiri who passed initial EFL ownership tests, was welcomed (let’s not forget), but turned out to be shamelessly irresponsible. Wednesday fans fear the club's existence might be at risk if the EFL imposes further punishments and restrictions that deter potential buyers.
Stronger oversight of owners is clearly required and the EFL and PL did tighten their rules in 2023. The new Independent Football Regulator will introduce a proper licensing system for clubs and better oversight of owners. Unfortunately, the IFR did not come into force early enough to prevent Wednesday's downward slide under Chansiri.
Wednesday are currently in administration and threatened with further EFL sanctions – a 15-point deduction for next season. This season's 18-point deduction all but guaranteed relegation from the Championship (confirmed on Feb 22). The League applies sanctions as punishment for debts and also as a deterrent to other clubs/owners.
The EFL emphasises it is working with all parties to “try and find a solution that can see Sheffield Wednesday continue as a member of the League....but ultimately we have to also apply the terms of the League’s insolvency policy…which seeks to balance the interests, not only of Sheffield Wednesday, but also of the other 71 clubs”.
Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust, fighting hard for their club’s survival, has now released a copy of the EFL’s insolvency policy and argues that it gives the League, in the Trust’s words, “absolute discretion when determining how to deal with clubs experiencing an insolvency event”.
The Trust argues that “…further punitive sanctions risk undermining the very factors the EFL states it must consider - including the effect on supporters, the impact on the local community and the wider credibility of the league itself.
“Sheffield Wednesday supporters are not seeking advantage over other clubs. It is entirely right that all EFL clubs should be treated fairly and consistently. That principle must include Sheffield Wednesday that has already suffered enormously during a decade in which the EFL’s own regulatory oversight failed to prevent the damage that unfolded.
“We urge the EFL to apply its own guidance responsibly and ensure that the focus now is on allowing the club to recover, stabilise and move forward under new ownership. Sheffield Wednesday supporters have suffered enough.” #SWFC #EFL @SWFCTrust
David Hirst 58 today
For me, one of the best strikers of his generation, literally had everything until injury got the better of him
Sensational player #SWFC
Today I reached my limit.
❌ Not because of the game.
❌ Not because of a mistake.
❌ But because of the nonstop voices coming from the touchline.
I kept hearing:
“Press him.”
“Pass it.”
“Shoot.”
“Turn.”
“Get wider.”
“Drop.”
Every action I made already had an instruction attached to it, before I’d even thought for myself.
◍ I’m trying to play, but I can’t.
◍ I’m trying to make decisions, but yours arrive before mine.
◍ I’m trying to focus, but I keep looking over, checking if you’re annoyed, disappointed, or waiting to shout again.
⇢ I’m only a young player, still learning.
⇢ I want to hear my coach.
⇢ I want to understand the game.
⇢ I want to trust my own eyes.
⇢ I want to make decisions and learn from them.
But when the sideline becomes a second coach, louder, harsher, more impatient, I stop learning.
❌ I stop thinking.
❌ I stop enjoying it.
And then the questions start:
⇨ Why do adults think their constant instructions help?
⇨ Why do they talk as if they’re in the game with me?
⇨ Why am I worried more about upsetting them than doing the right thing?
Football shouldn’t feel like a test I’m failing in real time. It shouldn’t feel like I’m being judged for every decision I don’t make because you’ve already shouted the one you want.
Here’s what nobody admits:
🔴 Children don’t struggle because they can’t think.
🔴 They struggle because adults don’t let them.
☉ Decision-making comes from freedom, not fear.
☉ Awareness grows from playing, not from being shouted at.
☉ Confidence builds from trying things, not from being corrected every five seconds.
I’m playing the game.
I see what you can’t see.
I feel the pressure you don’t feel.
I’m learning in real time.
All I’m asking for is space to think, to breathe, to grow.
If you want to help me, let me play.
Let my coach guide me.
Let my mistakes teach me.
Let the game speak.
Because when the noise stops, the learning starts.
@AlexJPMiller@robstaton Thanks Alex.
For clarification - “While matters remain ongoing in respect of the issues being considered by…etc” I assume this means, no point deductions but embargo’s, fines, restrictions etc could still be handed out down the line? Is that what this means?
Girls ⚽️ soccer players: today is a BIG day for women's college soccer. Tons of conference championship games on across all divisions.
📺 Be sure to WATCH!