Nobody, not even Matt Beard himself, expected Liverpool to achieve what they did last season.
The manager’’ first spell at the club over a decade ago saw him lead Liverpool to back-to-back Women’s Super League titles in 2013 and 2014. However, when he returned in May 2021, the expectations were far more tempered.
Beard had two years to get Liverpool back into the WSL after their bitter relegation in 2020. He did it in just one.
The priority for their first campaign back in the top flight was survival – establishing themselves as a WSL side again and avoiding the frequent fate of newly-promoted teams finishing bottom and heading straight back down. A mid-table finish in 2022/23 was no small feat.
But last season was a different story. Liverpool won 12 of their 22 league matches, storming to a top-four finish. Along the way, they recorded historic wins against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, finishing just nine points off the European spots.
However, Beard knows that repeating such achievements won’t be easy. The WSL is becoming more competitive every year, and despite Liverpool’s stature as one of football’s most iconic clubs, their spending power in the women’s game is far more limited than that of their rivals.
“It’s going to be tough,” Beard admitted at the Barclays WSL 2024/25 season launch media day earlier this month. “I think we overachieved last year.
“I knew the players we were bringing in last year were good players, but I know the WSL is a tough league to settle into. I feel they surprised me, especially the younger ones.
“If we had a negative result, we went on a good run after that, so that part really did surprise me. I’ve been involved in teams where you’ve got young players, and if you get one [bad] result, it can turn into two or three. But, the girls responded really well last year.
“I think it’s going to get tougher and tougher to break into the top three. If you look at the money they’re spending, it’s just ridiculous. We’ve got to be conservative and manage the budget we’ve got. We work really hard on our recruitment and I feel we’ve brought in some good players this summer. We’ll see where it takes us.”
One of those recruits is Canada starlet Olivia Smith, signed for a club-record £210,000 after Liverpool triggered her release clause at Sporting CP. Swedish striker Cornelia Kapocs and Wales defender Gemma Evans rounded off a modest summer…
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