Chris Baird
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| Chris Baird | ||
 |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Patrick Baird | |
| Date of birth | 25 February 1982 | |
| Place of birth | Rasharkin, Northern Ireland | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Fulham | |
| Number | 34 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
1998–2002 |
Ballymena United Southampton |
|
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2002–2007 2003 2004 2007– |
Southampton → Walsall (loan) → Watford (loan) Fulham |
68 (3) 10 (0) 8 (0) 18 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2002–2003 2003– |
Northern Ireland U21 Northern Ireland |
6 (0) 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 (born 25 February 1982, Rasharkin, County Antrim) is a Northern Irish footballer. He is a defender who currently plays for Fulham.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early life
Baird went to School at Saint Patrick's Primay School, Rasharkin, before completing Secondary Education at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Ballymoney.[citation needed]
[edit] Southampton
Baird started his career at Northern Irish club, Ballymena United, before moving to Southampton as a young player for £100,000.
Baird made his debut for Southampton on 22 March 2003 as a late substitute for David Prutton in a 2–2 draw at home with Aston Villa. His second appearance came in a 6–1 defeat at Arsenal, when he came on after 26 minutes, with Arsenal already 5–0 up.
Baird's first start came on the final day of the 2002–03 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. Southampton lost the match 1–0, but Baird was voted as the Saints man of the match.[1]
He subsequently made two successful loan spells away from Southampton. He spent two months at Walsall, where he played regularly in the first-team, and a month at Watford.
In the 2003–04 season, Baird made only four league appearances for Southampton, and none at all in the following season. Following Southampton's relegation from the Premiership, Baird re-established himself in the Southampton squad and was singled out for praise by Southampton manager George Burley.[citation needed] He started 16 league games in the 2005–06 season.
In the first game of the 2006–07 season, away to Derby County on 6 August 2006, he was drafted into the centre half position when Claus Lundekvam went off injured in the sixth minute. On 25 November 2006, in his 50th first-team game for Southampton, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory over Luton Town.[2] He spent most of the season in central defence, and at the end of the season he was the runaway winner of the Saints Player of the Season award.
[edit] Fulham
Baird left Southampton on 12 July 2007 to move to Premier League club Fulham for £3.025m.[3] Baird was one of several Northern Irish players bought by Sanchez in 2007 and despite having a run of games in the first team he has failed to endear himself to the Fulham fans.
[edit] International career
In June 2003 Baird made his Northern Ireland debut against Italy in a 2–0 defeat. Since then he has been a regular member of the national side, despite playing little domestically between 2003 and 2005.
[edit] Honours
[edit] References
- ^ FA Cup final player ratings. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.
- ^ Baird off the mark. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on November 26, 2006.
- ^ "Fulham complete capture of Baird", BBC Sport, 2007-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Claus Lundekvam |
Southampton F.C. player of the season 2006–07 |
Succeeded by Andrew Davies |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Chris Baird |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | footballer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 25 February 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rasharkin, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
