VillaChris Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Hasn't improved for me as I thought he was coming on nicely end of last season. The James Collins comparison is quite apt, he should be fine against Stoke and Palace but teams with movement and pace he gets found out. Distribution is poor aswell. Still Clark looked a car crash this time last season and has been much better this season so who knows. Centre halfs do tend to mature later than in most other positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supervillan78 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Don't rate him, can't wait for Okore to get fit again so Baker is no where near our first team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooJung Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I'm still willing to give the lad some time. I doubt he will be a top class CB, but he has qualities, He just needs to become aware of his limitations and find a way around them. He has shown promise last season, he just isn't performing to that standard (which can also be said for Weimann, Westwood, Lowton, Sylla, Benteke... Could there be a link?) 22 is still a very young age for a CB. It's also had less than a year as a regular starter. Give him time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakid007 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 When ur exposed all game by a terrible midfield u will be prone to mistakes. By comparison jones & Evans didn't have to work all game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Brought it here Stefan, hope that is cool. I genuinely believe Baker is one of the biggest problems and right now do not think he is good enough to even be fourth choice. There are many problems with his game - a lot of these cost us games. I always fear when he is on the pitch. There is possibly a decent player in there somewhere, but he needs to be bullied by league 1/2 strikers who will not let him breathe for a second - this will toughen him up and stop him falling asleep during important spells. I'd quite like an experienced back-up to be 4th choice tbh, but that isn't happening, so the next best choice is a very highly rated CB in Donacien, who I feel could do what Clark did when he made his debut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 As I said in the previous thread, I truly believe he's perfect for the role he's filling. I think you're overstating the role of the 4th choice CB for a team not in Europe because of the injury problems we have. In an ideal season, the 4th choice would never play in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Which is why I would rather bring Donacien through, I think he is a much better choice for the role and would benefit more from being around the first team squad than Baker would. I think Baker needs to go out on loan and try to improve on his faults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROTTERDAM1982 Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 In my view dodgy, Baker is too much of the focus of attention.He is, for a CH still very young, and i think he will develop into a good solid CH, say alongside Okores, but he needs a steady , fast LB alongside him, and a better defensive midfielder than Westwood in front of him. Our major problems are up front.Devoid of confidence/ability/effort, we are in a desperate position of having only one player in the team at any one time who looks like scoring.Today Albrighton, Tonev, Weimann, Westwood, Delph, and then Bowery, never, ever looked like scoring, against a team like Stoke. Man Citeehh, can't defend, but they can score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 One thing I am perhaps overlooking is the fact that the pressure we are put under (fault of the midfield?) doesn't help Baker. Maybe if we were less clumsy we would see less mistakes and less pressure on the back four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted December 21, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 21, 2013 In my view dodgy, Baker is too much of the focus of attention.He is, for a CH still very young, and i think he will develop into a good solid CH, say alongside Okores, but he needs a steady , fast LB alongside him, and a better defensive midfielder than Westwood in front of him. Our major problems are up front.Devoid of confidence/ability/effort, we are in a desperate position of having only one player in the team at any one time who looks like scoring.Today Albrighton, Tonev, Weimann, Westwood, Delph, and then Bowery, never, ever looked like scoring, against a team like Stoke. Man Citeehh, can't defend, but they can score. I agree our biggest problems are up front. Baker is worse every time I see him though. He doesn't have a footballing brain and the first goal today was just atrocious defending. What was he doing? I have no idea. He tried to shove the striker off the ball or what? Completely inept there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Pangloss Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 He's a liability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted December 21, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted December 21, 2013 One thing I am perhaps overlooking is the fact that the pressure we are put under (fault of the midfield?) doesn't help Baker. Maybe if we were less clumsy we would see less mistakes and less pressure on the back four. Maybe sometimes. Against Manu though, we had more men in the center than them and they still scored. Why? Because our guys watch the ball instead of their man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 One thing I am perhaps overlooking is the fact that the pressure we are put under (fault of the midfield?) doesn't help Baker. Maybe if we were less clumsy we would see less mistakes and less pressure on the back four. Maybe sometimes. Against Manu though, we had more men in the center than them and they still scored. Why? Because our guys watch the ball instead of their man. Yes, this ball watching pisses me off. Stupid players making the same mistakes again and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Baker was at fault for the first goal wasn't he. Overall the defence did well today but one mistake and a handball cost us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villianusa Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Not been his best of late, but I thought he did very well today. Defended very bravely and was in position when needed. While I was watching today I felt for him and Clark. The amount of pressure they are under because of the amount of possession other teams are having, is ridiculous. They both are learning the hard way how to play under pressure, but sadly it's a bit much for them at times this season. If we can move on, and start keeping more possession, then maybe they both can reach their potential. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Yes you cant fault him today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt1874 Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I thought he played pretty well today. Looked the solid, fearless old school defender he can be. Shaun Teale style. Just needs to find some consistency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychobirch Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Baker lacks consistency, but unfortunately I think he's taking a little more stick than he deserves. Ok, he's young, he's bound to make mistakes. He has the right to make mistakes because he is human after all. I think Vlaar has a lot to do with Baker's confidence. When Baker plays along side Vlaar (as a pair or a back three regardless), he plays a lot better than he does when paired alone with Clarke. Obviously people's opinions are going to differ, but I feel a lot more at ease when Baker's name comes up next to Vlaar on the team sheet. Aerially, I can't fault him. He wins a lot of aerial challenges, he stands up big and strong, but he's very susceptible to being caught out on the turn or with a simple through ball. He's god a way to go, but I like this lad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt1874 Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Baker lacks consistency, but unfortunately I think he's taking a little more stick than he deserves. Ok, he's young, he's bound to make mistakes. He has the right to make mistakes because he is human after all. I think Vlaar has a lot to do with Baker's confidence. When Baker plays along side Vlaar (as a pair or a back three regardless), he plays a lot better than he does when paired alone with Clarke. Obviously people's opinions are going to differ, but I feel a lot more at ease when Baker's name comes up next to Vlaar on the team sheet. Aerially, I can't fault him. He wins a lot of aerial challenges, he stands up big and strong, but he's very susceptible to being caught out on the turn or with a simple through ball. He's god a way to go, but I like this lad. Spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooJung Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 He's also 2 years younger than Clark, and let's not forget what the general opinion we had about Clark just 6 months ago. CB is a very hard position to play, he's got lots to learn, but time's on his side. I'm confident he will become a good solid CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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