Tomaszk Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Beard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponky Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Baker's main problem is his lack of pace. That was exposed awfully last season by Luna being everywhere in the pitch except where he was supposed to be often leaving Baker exposed. Sitting back with a solid back 4 suited him to a tee yesterday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Baker's main problem is his lack of pace. That was exposed awfully last season by Luna being everywhere in the pitch except where he was supposed to be often leaving Baker exposed. Sitting back with a solid back 4 suited him to a tee yesterday. This is how he should have been blooded really. I still think he'll turn out to be a handy CB - he's got the potential and some good characteristics to be refined and shaped accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I think Baker's main problem is his occasional lack of concentration, closely followed by the odd rash tackles. There are lots of slow defenders in the league who manage to play strikers offside, or get in last ditch tackles, despite their lack of pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROTTERDAM1982 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Wheres all his critics today? MOM yday, a young lad who always gives 100%, might not be the best, but certainly not as bad as some on here seem to think.Game was made for him yday tbh, but his interception just before H/T was crucial. Well played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa_shere Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I don't get this. He deserves all the criticism he got. He has been poor since he joined the team. The stats show that, and our own views can see that. Lambert wouldn't have signed Sendros otherwise. Baker has the potential to become a decent centre back but I do not think he has improved at the rate he should have given the amount of PL games under his belt. Exact could be said for Clark. The game suited him yesterday as we sat deep and needed body's on the line type defending. Where what we need is the cultured defender who doesn't dive in and is comfortable with the ball at their feet. I wouldn't ship him out but he wouldn't be first team should sendros, vlaar n okre be fully fit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikantcpell Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 He was the best player on the pitch yesterday.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Baker has never looked that out of place with an experienced head next to him. It's the car crash of a partnership him and Clark had that makes him so derided. Still surprised me with how good he was yesterday although Senderos was his equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Baker has never looked that out of place with an experienced head next to him. It's the car crash of a partnership him and Clark had that makes him so derided. Still surprised me with how good he was yesterday although Senderos was his equal.Agreed. Quite a few of us have been saying that for a while. Him and Clark both suffer from clanger-itis, but they're now playing with better players around them (well, Baker is), which helps to stop the silly moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adw95 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 People must forget he's only 23, has a lot of plus points but only main issue is lack of concentration. Should fix itself by the time he "peaks" I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Wheres all his critics today? MOM yday, a young lad who always gives 100%, might not be the best, but certainly not as bad as some on here seem to think.Game was made for him yday tbh, but his interception just before H/T was crucial. Well played. A lot are in this thread saying good game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhan_Zhuang Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I've been one of the few to stick up for Baker and hence I'm pleased to see him do well against Liverpool. As someone has incorrectly stated Baker hasn't been poor since he's been in the team because he has been at times excellent like against Chelsea last season; the problem has been inconsistency and playing with other inexperienced players. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itdoesntmatterwhatthissay Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 He might have gone, he might have been loaned but he's still around to prove he can make it. Coming in for an unfit player might serve his development very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas_Mike Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I always thought that he would eventually become a solid player that most Premier League teams would be happy to have. It is so hard to judge how good someone is when they have no left or right back to help you. and at times a central partner that is as shaky as the rest. He did make too many mistakes though. Hopefully he will mature this season now that the pressure is off him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heid3ster Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I'm not ready to reverse my opinion of him based on one game, but I will praise a great performance when I see one, and I saw one yesterday. He is still young, especially for a defender, and should improve. If he continues to put in peformances like yesterday's I will have no complaints and will happily eat my words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I'm not ready to reverse my opinion of him based on one game, but I will praise a great performance when I see one, and I saw one yesterday. He is still young, especially for a defender, and should improve. If he continues to put in peformances like yesterday's I will have no complaints and will happily eat my words. I do agree that very few defenders become 'good at defending' from a young age. It is a discipline well earned over a long period and the hard way. There aren't many young English defenders in this league that have done much better, just look at Smalling and Jones at Manure, largely they've been inconsistent and crap although both clearly are good players. Stones for England looked raw, again he had potential but looked horribly inexperienced. I doubt our fearless leader *bows* McGrath was the finished article at 23. Ok i have nothing to base that on, he may well have been god then to. Ugo and Southgate - were probably two of our youngest and most complete defenders in my time as a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexbelowsound Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Used sparingly I think he'll prove to be an asset as long as he is playing alongside either Vlaar or Senderos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
479Villan Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Hopefully the performance ends the narrative that Baker is shit, but it certainly doesn't erase the previous bad performances. He's shown his capabilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordSepulchrave Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 (edited) To be fair, he had a run of games last season where he looked solid too - then came the inevitable horrible game and suddenly nobody remembers the good games. Hopefully this year he can make the step up in consistency and start looking like a decent PL CB far more than he looks like a poor back-up. Edited September 14, 2014 by LordSepulchrave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhan_Zhuang Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I'm not ready to reverse my opinion of him based on one game, but I will praise a great performance when I see one, and I saw one yesterday. He is still young, especially for a defender, and should improve. If he continues to put in peformances like yesterday's I will have no complaints and will happily eat my words. "One game"? He was pretty good in our wins against Chelsea and Man City last season too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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