Carl Baker from Stockport (4 Viewers)

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Nick

Nick

Administrator
It looks like we are getting him as well as Deegan. Who will be going I wonder for these 2 to slot in?

I think Cork will be going back so maybe Clingan and Deegan in the middle? What about Gunnar?
 
Peter Griffin

Peter Griffin

New Member
Sky Blues close on Baker

Ablett confirms cash-strapped Hatters set to lose midfielder

Last updated: 26th December 2009





Baker: Set to join Coventry
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Coventry City are set to sign midfielder Cark Baker from cash-strapped League One strugglers Stockport County.
The Hatters have been in administration since April this year and there are fears the club could be wound up next month.
That has led to speculation that exits are on the cards in January and Baker, who joined from Morecambe in the summer of 2008, looks set to be the first player out of the door.
Baker has scored 12 goals for the club this season and was linked with Coventry's Championship rivals Preston North End earlier in the campaign.
Stockport boss Gary Ablett has confirmed that Baker, who turned 27 on Boxing Day, is poised to finalise a move to the Ricoh Arena when the transfer window reopens.
Ablett said: "Until the takeover happens we will have to work with what we've got and people are coming in for our better players.
"It looks like we're going to lose Carl Baker to Coventry - it's disappointing but we've just got to get on with it."
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Carl Baker and Stockport - an example to us all

Post categories: Football
Paul Fletcher | 13:28 UK time, Monday, 14 September 2009


In an age when football is a multi-million pound global business I often struggle to relate to the game and its protagonists, who have become remote celebrity figures with little in common with the people who pay handsomely to watch them.
But every now and again a story comes along that unlocks something emotional deep inside me, the sort that really makes me feel as though I can empathise with a footballer once more.
This is one of them.

League One Stockport drew 2-2 at Yeovil on Saturday. It was a result which took both teams on to six points so far in the season and was in many ways unremarkable.
What made it significant was that both the Stockport goals were scored by Hatters forward Carl Baker, taking his tally to nine goals for the season and making him the highest scorer in the country this season.
Just days earlier Stockport manager Gary Ablett had the unenviable task of breaking the news to Baker that the player's elder brother Michael had lost his battle against leukaemia.
Baker was under no pressure to play on Saturday but called Ablett on Thursday evening to say that he wanted to be part of the team.
baker595.jpg
Baker, shown here wearing the Hatters pre-season kit, scored twice on Saturday days after the death of his brother
After putting Stockport in front with his 22nd minute penalty he raced to the dugout and collected a T-shirt he had prepared in advance. It said 'For u Mike' and Baker held it aloft while all of his team-mates, goalkeeper included, rushed to join him.
At the end of the game Baker was sent over to the away supporters by Ablett. A couple of hundred had made the long trek south to Huish Park and they presented the striker with a card that everyone in the away end had signed.
Baker was hugged by many of them and I'm told that it was a genuinely emotional moment. For me, it is an example of what football is really all about.
Baker's brother had been in attendance at Stockport's last home game and I could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Carl to retain his focus and concentration for last Saturday's match.
Perhaps it provided a distraction for Carl, who has been in brilliant form this season; a real bag of tricks playing just behind the main striker. Perhaps he felt that if he played he might score and would then have the opportunity to make a public demonstration of his feelings for his older brother.
To make matters even worse, Baker's younger brother also has leukaemia and it is obviously an extremely difficult time for the whole family.
I'm told that Baker is a typical scouser, a little bit cheeky, a very bubbly character and fun to be around. Now 26, he came into the professional game relatively late having joined Morecambe in 2007.
It means that he appreciates every single day he spends as a professional player. In my experience professionals who have previously worked in a 'normal' job often have a greater appreciation of the privilege of being paid to play the game.
Stockport brought him to Edgeley Park in July 2008 for a figure in the region of £200,000 - a lot of money in the lower leagues. He is clearly at the right club.
The Hatters are currently in administration but they have gone above and beyond what could be expected to raise the profile of Leukaemia Research.
The club's players wore a cerise pink and black striped shirt for their pre-season friendlies. It has a historical connection as they are the colours Stockport wore in 1900, but the Leukaemia Research logo was featured on them.
The shirts are now being auctioned off to raise money for the charity and are fetching £200 a piece. The players and staff at the club have pitched in to buy one for £500.
With Stockport in administration they aren't a particularly attractive proposition for business investment so every unused advertising board at Edgeley Park is currently filled with one for Leukaemia Research.
When a board is eventually sold the club, despite their financial travails, are donating 30% of the fee to Leukaemia Research.
The club decided to raise money for the charity as a Baker and several other staff at the club have relations suffering from blood cancer diseases. As someone at Stockport told me: "We might have done a lot wrong at the club but we have got this just about right."
I couldn't agree more. Thousands of words are written every weekend about the latest flare-up in the Premier League, the hottest transfer rumour or the latest takeover talk.
But I cannot help but feel that Baker's courage, his bond with the Hatters supporters and Stockport's willingness to embrace such a worthy cause chimes with what made me first fall in love with football.
And I wish all of them well.
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Good buzz about him, apparently started playing fairly late on, but I think he'll add something to the side, and he's a big lad too, which is good.

Not having to play Gunnar and adding competition may well give him his edge back.
 
Nick

Nick

Administrator
It looks like he is talking about personal terms with us, hopefully he will be signed in the next couple of days :)
 
Oldfive

Oldfive

New Member
Darren Ferguson , the new boss of Preston is trying to hijack the deal , he wants to make Baker his 1st signing at Preston . Lets hope we have sorted it already .
 
Oldfive

Oldfive

New Member
Just read that his younger brother died of Leukemia in september , and his older brother and sister have been diagnosed with it too . Thats awful :(
 
Nick

Nick

Administrator
That is really bad, I read somewhere about him playing the game after his brother died and scoring and the whole of the away end filling in a card for him.
 
S

stuscfc

New Member
good luck to Carl . . . you've got a quality player there . . . in fact i'm sure you'll enjoy his trickery, he really is a great player . . . he prefers playing out wide left but we feel his best role is in the hole just behind the front lads . . . his jinky runs and the way he creates space is a joy to watch . . . on a personal note, although i've never met him, he seems to be a great lad, clearly his personal problems have been well documented and i hope he remains upbeat as can be and enjoys his time at the Ricoh . . . good luck for the rest of the season guys, you'll now have some County fans watchin how you get on . . .
 
Oldfive

Oldfive

New Member
It is sad to see teams in Admin , we were only minutes away not so long ago . Although im glad we are signing decent players from the lower leagues , i always feel for the teams that are losing their better players . Thats football i suppose and its not like it doesnt happen to us .
 
IrishSkyBlue

IrishSkyBlue

Facebook User
Cheers man im sure he will fit right in a ccfc, is it just me or anybody else getitng excited with the signings colemen has made as everyone somebody has had soemthing brillant to say about them ha.
 
Oldfive

Oldfive

New Member
Yep , i like our transfer strategy , hungry players in their early to mid 20's . Only time will tell if they are good enough , but i would rather be signing that type of player than over the hill premiership journymen . Wood , Cranie , Clingan , Aron , Westy , Mcpake have all been a upgrade in my opinion , and we still have the likes of Deegan , Madine, Hussey and now Baker to push for a first team spot . Things are looking good :D

http://www.ccfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10269~1926808,00.html
 
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S

stuscfc

New Member
i've just learned that Carl Baker put in a transfer request to County before you guys bought him . . . in doing this he has waived his right to bonuses and payoffs within his contract . . . in this dog eat dog age of football this is yet another example of his qualities as a decent man . . . god bless you Carl for everything you've done for us, you will be unbelievably missed . . . we all wait for your first visit back to Edgeley Park and you'll be getting the biggest ovation ever seen . . . good luck guys
 
S

stuscfc

New Member
yep you have . . . tip of the ice berg mate . . . he'll dazzle with his quick feet and the fact he has velcro boots means he'll not lose it easily . . . the ball really does stick to his feet lol
 
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