Chris Baird
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| Chris Baird | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Patrick Baird | |
| Date of birth | February 25, 1982 (age 25) | |
| Place of birth | Rasharkin, Northern Ireland | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Southampton | |
| Number | 21 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1998-2002 | Southampton | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2002-Present 2003 2004 |
Southampton → Walsall (loan) → Watford (loan) |
63 (3) 10 (0) 8 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2003- | Northern Ireland | 25 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
- For the former radio presenter of the same name see BBC Radio Derby.
Christopher Patrick "Chris" Baird (b. February 25, 1982, Rasharkin, County Antrim) is a Northern Irish footballer who currently plays as a defender for Southampton, having made his debut there in March 2003.
Baird hade his debut for Southampton on 22 March 2003 as a late substitute for David Prutton in the 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa. When he came on, Southampton were losing 2-1. His second appearance came in the 6-1 defeat at Arsenal, when he came on after 26 minutes, with Arsenal already 5-0 up. Baird's first goal conceded was to Robert Pirès.
Baird's first start came on the final day of the league season, in a 1-0 win at Manchester City. A week later he started for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup Final, also against Arsenal, and put in an impressive performance although Southampton lost the match 1-0. [1] Coincidentally, it was Robert Pirès that scored past Baird's defence again.
The following month Baird made his Northern Ireland debut against Italy in a 2-0 defeat.
Baird has made two successful loan spells away from Southampton, most notably his two months at Walsall, who gave him his first real taste of first team football, and a month at Watford.
In the 2003-04 season, Baird made only four league appearances for Southampton, and didn't play for them at all in the following season. Despite this he remained a regular in the Northern Ireland national squad.
Since Southampton's relegation from the Premiership, Baird has re-established himself in the Southampton squad and has been singled out for praise from current Southampton manager George Burley. He started 16 league games in 2005-06 and has already started as many in the 2006-07 season.
On 25 November 2006 he scored his first professional goal in 2-1 victory over Luton Town [2] in his 50th competitive first-team game for The Saints.
[edit] Honours
Southampton
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ FA Cup final player ratings. BBC. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.
- ^ Baird off the mark. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on November 26, 2006.
| Southampton F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Davis | 2 Östlund | 3 Pelé | 4 Saganowski | 5 Lundekvam | 6 Powell | 7 Skácel | 8 Wright-Phillips | 9 Rasiak | 10 Wright | 11 Svensson | 12 Lička | 15 Jones | 17 Belmadi | 18 Dyer | 19 Makin | 21 Baird | 22 Bale | 23 Viáfara | 24 Guthrie | 25 Poke | 26 Miller | 27 Best | 28 Białkowski | 29 Surman | 34 James | 41 Lallana | Manager: Burley |
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