Jose Baxter retires aged 29

[AWetFlannel]

Instead of telling his 13 year old self “you lived it son”, maybe he should have warned him not to be a dickhead and waste his god given talent. UTB

People can't decide to have the attitude of Chris Basham, it is a talent in and of itself. You don't choose to be focused, hard working and committed. Some people are, some people aren't. Giving those that aren't loads of shit for it is just ignorant.

 

[LJBlade]

Life is full of fine margins. Jose made some bad ones but who are we to criticise.

He is still young and hope he has a good life and achieves whatever he desires just like all all of us

Enjoyed watching him in a Blades shirt

Exactly this. He made some bad choices and he could’ve done more with his talent but the world is full of people like that. He achieved more on a football pitch than most of us (if not all) ever will. Looking back with regret is useful sometimes but I personally feel it’s better to look back with positivity. It’s not like you can go back in time and change things. Focus on the positives in your life rather than the negatives.

As another poster has said, the focus and desire is something that comes naturally, some have it some don’t. Those that have both natural talent and natural focus and desire make it to the top, like Messi and Ronaldo.

 

[metalblade]

Didn't they once say at Everton he was a better prospect than Wayne Rooney?

 

[spongebobblade]

Your memory is playing tricks with you ,one of the most over rated , lazy, disrespectful ,tosspots to take the piss out of Sheffield United. Anyone who went to Bury and many other games during his time at the Lane will back me up. Why is it sad to see him underachieve , when many other talented,football loving ,respectful hard working lads dont have anywhere near the chances he has.

I’m one of those who thought he was a talented footballer. Sadly he just abused every manager, club and supporter who ever gave him an opportunity. It was always 1 step forward and two steps back. If anyone was ever in doubt then THAT game away to Bury on a rain lashed midweek night summed him up perfectly. It has to be one of the worst individual couldn’t give a fuck performances I’ve seen in a Blades shirt. He only got away with it because we were all too busy frothing at the mouth at Adkins in the dugout

 

[JohnDenver]

People can't decide to have the attitude of Chris Basham, it is a talent in and of itself. You don't choose to be focused, hard working and committed. Some people are, some people aren't. Giving those that aren't loads of shit for it is just ignorant.

Is self improvement not possible? People certainly do change, but are they actually responsible for their choices, or is free will just an illusion?

2000 words on my desk by Friday please.

 

[Kanye]

Don't want to stick the boot in, and I can sympathise with someone who's had drug and mental health issues. That being said, he (and many others) royally took the piss out of us during those dark days.

It's a shame, because we were crying out for a player like him at the time: a maverick number 10 with his kind of technique would have gone down well, and if he'd played remotely close to his potential, we'd have forgiven his poor work rate too

 

[LJBlade]

Is self improvement not possible? People certainly do change, but are they actually responsible for their choices, or is free will just an illusion?

2000 words on my desk by Friday please.

Self improvement is certainly possible but there is most definitely a ‘spectrum’ when it comes to things like focus, hard work and commitment. Some people have it and some don’t. The ones that have it alongside natural talent are the ones who are at the top of the game, whichever game that may be. Most of the time it is an ingrained thing but it can obviously be worked on.

(I don’t think that’s quite 2000 words but I tried my best and I don’t reckon anyone wants to read me rambling on for much longer)

 

[Cyprus Blade]

Best remembered for that last ditch tackle in front of the BL end. V Spurs wasn't it?

Apart from that ... um ....

He could have been a contender but threw it all away. Best game I remember him having was v Bradford City

 

[Weasel]

A gifted lad certainly, but no one made him put copious amounts of white snow up his hooter or spend hours and hours in the alehouse. He chose to do that.

He will have had had countless people around him and many professionals will have tried to steer him in the right direction. Ultimately, you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. He had every opportunity but consistently chose the wrong path. I have no sympathy.

On reflection, having watched his performance on that night at Bury when he took the piss with his attitude... I have even less. Still never mind son, life goes on. Welcome to the real world of early starts and long days working for a living.

 

[TCsLoveChild]

People can't decide to have the attitude of Chris Basham, it is a talent in and of itself. You don't choose to be focused, hard working and committed. Some people are, some people aren't. Giving those that aren't loads of shit for it is just ignorant.

You are 100% wrong. People do choose their paths in life, some choose hard work some choose to toss it off. We all have to live with the consequences of those choices, that’s life I’m afraid. To think otherwise is just to excuse stupid behaviour. UTB

 

[ChrisDysonHT]

View attachment 118408

I am going to offer him a job at my school I am HT at ... I got Mcfly to come so I am sure I can get Mr Baxter a job doing my PE sessions on a contract ...

 

[Davalon]

Continued to not learn from his repeated mistakes.

No malice towards him but not much sympathy either.

 

[coaxingstar71]

He won't be remembered fondly by many Blades being associated with poor times, but there's not many Blades who have scored at Wembley and he could take a penalty.

 

[ISZA ⚔️]

He was a great footballer but lacked the desire and took what he had for granted. I loved watching how he played the game but he never committed himself to getting fully fit and making the best of his talents.

He certainly should have dreamt bigger if he looks back on his time as YOU LIVED IT SON.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Is self improvement not possible? People certainly do change, but are they actually responsible for their choices, or is free will just an illusion?

2000 words on my desk by Friday please.

I've spoken to people before who work with offenders and they have to teach them decision making as a skill. Some people for whatever reason just don't have it. one might call it stupidity, naivety or whatever but they just can't understand the relationship between their actions and consequences. Its why you get somebody with a tiny bit of weed in their car doing a 100mph chase down a motorway.

When you look at footballers who've thrown their careers away the average person can't get their heads round it but as you can see with Baxter it only seems to be 5/6 years later that he's realised the gravity of what he's actually done. I think there is much more effort goes into producing footballers who are well rounded individual these days but not so long ago many of them will have been brought up in a consequence free environment (especially the more talented ones) coupled with the fact that in so many football club environments lairy behaviour is encouraged to be part of the group...…inevitably some people won't know where the line is.

Even as a paying punter I don't really see him as having cheated the club. I didn't mind him as a player and when he left I barely gave him a second thought (largely because of the run we went on under Wilder).

The person he's really cheated is himself as he could have had a much better career and has to come to terms with that now and focus on the positives. It sounds like he's taking responsibility and will hopefully turn things round. Better that then somebody finds him hanging one day.

 

[S64 Blade]

Was without a doubt our best player, on his day. The most technically gifted from that era. But such a big part of being a top pro is commitment and having the right mental attributes. Jose sadly didn't have either of these in much abundance. I'm sure he regrets how he was; could easily have been a top Championship or even Premier League player if he'd applied himself (imagine if Wilder could have worked his magic with him).

 

[SwissBlade]

When he played for us i saw Baxter away from the Lane in 3 different places... Prince of Wales on Eccy Road, Pointing Dog and William Hill at Hunters Bar playing 20p roulette.

Very similar lifestyle to me when I was a student

Yeah, but he didn't come out of it with a degree and a load of debt, he just got paid shit loads of money with the odd bit of football inbetween his bans

If Jose had the attitude of Basham he could have been an England regular for years.

True. He also wouldn't have played for Sheffield United in League One...

 

[Caseh]

Instead of telling his 13 year old self “you lived it son”, maybe he should have warned him not to be a dickhead and waste his god given talent. UTB

Think he’s probably well aware of those parts, could well be the last part was to try and let himself move past his mistakes in his head, so he can actually forge a career in something else going forward.

 

[Basing Blade]

Addict. Good riddance. End of.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

Wouldn't have minded retiring at 29. Spose I'll have to keep plodding on though.....

 

[Deleted member 1486]

Addict.

He tested positive for MDMA, not heroin!

 

[Nosworthys Throw]

My fondest memory is when he attempted to do the "push up" celebration after questions were raised about his fitness, he just about managed to do one, nearly killed him.

I seem to remember him scoring a thunderbolt free kick from about 8 miles out no?

 

[Basing Blade]

He tested positive for MDMA, not heroin!

Sticking by my opinion.

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

A big shame Baxter never reached his potential, but his own stupidity ultimately got in the way. One suspects the mental health stuff might have come about as a result of his lifestyle and fall from grace, but only him/his doctor will know that for sure.

Still remains one of the better players from the L1 era, and I will forever remember him for breaking our scoring drought and Wembley and for an absolutely amazing pass vs Bradford (to Sharp, who tucked it away). Good luck in the next part of your life, Jose.

 

[BushBlade]

I think in the modern game, mentality is as important as technique and physicality. Baxter was unfortunately lacking the strong mentality and focus required to be a modern footballer and probably wasn’t helped by being ‘successful’ at such an early stage in his career. It’s true he could have worked on things to improve his attitude etc but to an extent, people are hostage to their characters and personalities, in the same way that I could train as hard as Bolt but I’ll never be anywhere near his speed. I remember reading James Ellroy saying that people’s futures were determined by their DNA and I still think there’s a fundamental truth to this, the pretty girl is more successful than the ugly one, the tall bloke is more successful than the short fat bloke, the person with supreme hand to eye coordination and athleticism will lean towards sport more than the bookish types, the extrovert gets a job in sales while the introvert gets a job in IT etc. All stereotypes but those who break that mould tend to be the exception rather than the rule.

 

[SB_90]

it is big shame because Jose Baxter was ridiculously talented & in the david weir/Nigel Clough team it was obvious that he was head & shoulders above everyone. he could & shouldve been playing in the premier league. so many great goals, that free kick v oldham was fantastic but he will be remember for that 50yd through ball v bradford, as i doubt many of us has a better pass

 

[Hillsboro Blade]

Always remember the home game v Wigan in 2016. He hit a pass way to hard to one of our players which bounced off his shins, the player (can’t remember who it was) couldn’t be blamed because of Baxters shit lazy pass. Wigan got the ball and scored. Always remember Baxter trotted for a few seconds then just started walking just before they scored. He couldn’t give a flying fuck. I don’t mind any player with limitations but if they give their all i.e Basham, Monty what more can you ask? I hate wasted talent and laziness and Baxter has tons of both.

 

[Goodpinchofclough]

His latest club was one in the second tier of US football, so he's had a clean slate in a new country playing football at a power standard than 2nd/ 3rd tier here. Something must be massively wrong to have packed it in from that.

 

[BrianBadonde]

Good luck to the lad.

Best remembered for that last ditch tackle in front of the BL end. V Spurs wasn't it?

Apart from that ... um ....

pommpey

The first goal we’ve scored at the new Wembley

 

[BrianBadonde]

Some of the comments on this thread are pretty shit to be honest.

His mental health obviously nosedived which is a real shame and he felt that the snout ales were the answer. He’s not too different to a lot of us really, his profession is just a by product.