Baldock’s new contract?

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Sothall_Blade

Sothall_Blade

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The Duffy contract situation has reminded me that Baldock only has one year left on his contract too.

Are we going to offer him one? Have we already? Edging our bets to see how he performs in The Premier League first? Planning to offload him and recoup some of our transfer outlay?

Seems a bit odd that it hasn’t been sorted by now.

All the other regular first-teamers have been rewarded. Bar him and Duffy!
 

Sothall_Blade said:
The Duffy contract situation has reminded me that Baldock only has one year left on his contract too.

Are we going to offer him one? Have we already? Edging our bets to see how he performs in The Premier League first? Planning to offload him and recoup some of our transfer outlay?

Seems a bit odd that it hasn’t been sorted by now.

All the other regular first-teamers have been rewarded. Bar him and Duffy!
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I think the same is true for Freeman
 
I would say we’re edging our bets and see how he performs, it could go either way.
Baldock is a great athlete with both speed and stamina, great attitude but his crossing and final ball is often average, not as good as K Freeman.

Also think it’s all down to us staying up next season, we don’t yet know our budget so don’t know what we can afford to offer.
 
It's not as important to protect ourselves with a player like him as it would have been if we were still in the Championship.

Maybe we're using the situation as a motivation tool.

Perform in the PL = inevitable new contract. And a good one too.
 
Ricky said:
It's not as important to protect ourselves with a player like him as it would have been if we were still in the Championship.

Maybe we're using the situation as a motivation tool.

Perform in the PL = inevitable new contract. And a good one too.
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But not quite as good.as someone else who can get him on a pre contract from dec onwards.

So they've got 5 months to make a judgement call and even before that, agents will tout their situation about.
 
Basham till june 2020 aswell, K Freeman and Stearman the same.
 
Scooter_mcgavin said:
But not quite as good.as someone else who can get him on a pre contract from dec onwards.

So they've got 5 months to make a judgement call and even before that, agents will tout their situation about.
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If Celtic still want him they’ll get him in January for nowt. So that has to be in the clubs thoughts.
 
Sothall_Blade said:
The Duffy contract situation has reminded me that Baldock only has one year left on his contract too.

Are we going to offer him one? Have we already? Edging our bets to see how he performs in The Premier League first? Planning to offload him and recoup some of our transfer outlay?

Seems a bit odd that it hasn’t been sorted by now.

All the other regular first-teamers have been rewarded. Bar him and Duffy!
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All of the players with expiring contracts will most likely have something in them triggering an extension if they play a certain number of games. It’s what we’ve done for a while now. You’d expect Baldock’s will simply be looked after through that, though giving us the option (as we did with Sharp) to extend further if needed. I don’t expect any of these to be extended till later in the season, and only really expect anything to be done with Baldock’s.
 
Cerberus Blade said:
Hope so.
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Ey, don’t knock Freeman. He’s put in an immense amount of effort this close and pre season by all accounts.

The club were open to the idea of getting rid in January along with Leon because he couldn’t follow simple diet/hydration instructions and had the highest body fat % in the squad. Now about middle of the group. If he’s putting in that sort of effort he’s earning his keep.
 
Akinbiyi said:
Ey, don’t knock Freeman. He’s put in an immense amount of effort this close and pre season by all accounts.

The club were open to the idea of getting rid in January along with Leon because he couldn’t follow simple diet/hydration instructions and had the highest body fat % in the squad. Now about middle of the group. If he’s putting in that sort of effort he’s earning his keep.
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Fair enough but we don’t select players on their BMI. (Body Mass Index).

I’ve nothing against the lad and he’s made some great contributions to the team. But if we play him at right back in the Prem we’ll get mullered! He’s just not good enough at that level. Not fast enough, can’t tackle.

Same for Baldock unfortunately.

And Basham is next after them.

That’s just the way it goes I think.
 
Cerberus Blade said:
Fair enough but we don’t select players on their BMI. (Body Mass Index).

I’ve nothing against the lad and he’s made some great contributions to the team. But if we play him at right back in the Prem we’ll get mullered! He’s just not good enough at that level. Not fast enough, can’t tackle.

Same for Baldock unfortunately.

And Basham is next after them.

That’s just the way it goes I think.
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Bit harsh he's obviously a good player who gets caught out positionally due to his fitness
If he's worked on that side of his game he maybe just fast enough and maybe sharper all round
No one can question his quality going forward
 
Every time I see someone writing off Bash, Baldock etc, I wonder what they think the standard is in the Premier League.

There are about 15 genuinely good "Premier" defenders in the Premier League, if any are slightly good it's such a rare occurrence that everyone jizzes themselves and they end up going for £45m, £50m, £80m.

Loads of dross, I think they'll be reyt if Mustafi, Smalling, Jones, Young, Lovren et al are top 6.

We'll let goals in no doubt, but I can't see us being any more suspect than half the league.
 
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Niceguyeddie said:

Bit harsh he's obviously a good player who gets caught out positionally due to his fitness
If he's worked on that side of his game he maybe just fast enough and maybe sharper all round
No one can question his quality going forward
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You’re a niceguyeddie. (You should consider that for a board name btw!).

Sorry though mate, I don’t agree. There’s ability and there’s fitness. And they can impact each other without doubt. But in Freeman’s case he doesn’t have the ability imo. No matter how fit he gets.

His time has come.

We bid him adieu!

We will look back (mostly) fondly on his times with us and wish him well. But he’s a lower league player and we are now at the highest level of world club football. That’s the reality.
 
It would make sense to offer him a new contract. If we stay up, he'll have been playing regularly. If we go down, he'll be the kind of player we want at the club to get us back up. I guess the issue comes with wages at this level. Everyone will want significantly more than their current contract.
 

Cerberus Blade said:
You’re a niceguyeddie. (You should consider that for a board name btw!).

Sorry though mate, I don’t agree. There’s ability and there’s fitness. And they can impact each other without doubt. But in Freeman’s case he doesn’t have the ability imo. No matter how fit he gets.

His time has come.

We bid him adieu!

We will look back (mostly) fondly on his times with us and wish him well. But he’s a lower league player and we are now at the highest level of world club football. That’s the reality.
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Why haven't we moved him on then ?
 
bromtom said:
Every time I see someone writing off Bash, Baldock etc, I wonder what they think the standard is in the Premier League.

There are about 15 genuinely good defenders in the Premier League, if any are slightly good it's such a rare occurrence that everyone jizzes themselves and they end up going for £45m, £50m, £80m.

Loads of dross, I think they'll be reyt if Mustafi, Smalling, Jones, Young, Lovren et al are top 6.
Click to expand...

I agree to a point. I think just being in the Prem bestows some sort of halo on a player, undeservedly in many cases. That’s why I posted a while ago rallying against this importance on “Prem experience”. I think it’s overrated. There are many good players outside the Prem who will have no problem playing there. And there are many “average” players in the Prem who will be playing their trade very soon in the lower leagues. Because they aren’t top standard.

Looking at our squad, in honesty, I don’t think the three I’ve mentioned will cut it in the Prem. Great servants though they’ve been. And Bash is a personal favourite of ours too! The guy has been immense. But sometimes there comes a step too far. And this is that step, for these lads, I think.

Would love to be wrong.
 
Amazed at the negativity towards Baldock. The lad is quality and I’ve no doubt he’ll be a success in the PL. One thing he has which is a massive asset in the PL is pace
 
The problem is, get rid of too many players at the same time and we are in danger of damaging the DNA of the side. The side that's taken us this far has been built on togetherness and a certain style of playing.

We need to evolve (which I think is what we are doing) rather than rip the arse out of it and start from scratch. I can see Duffy being allowed to leave, but I would be very surprised if we lose Baldock and Freeman too. For what it's worth, I love Duff, but at his age and with the additions we have made, I think he might be sacrificed.
 
Niceguyeddie said:
Whenever united have played at the top level before there has always been one or two players who have adapted to it who no one expected to
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You’re right. And like I said, I hope I’m wrong about these lads.

When we came up from L1 to the Championship a lot of folks were saying “big step up”. “Will struggle”. I didn’t think that. I thought we were playing Championship level football in L1 and I thought we’d hold our own.

I think we’ll hold our own in the Prem too but I don’t think we’ve been playing Prem football in the Championship. We’ll need to step up a bit in quality from here and I said months ago that neither Baldock or Freeman will be good enough at Prem level.

I think Bash will have a role to play but he’ll end up on the fringes with the quality of players we’ll attract over the coming season.

That’s about it really! Nothing nasty or negative intended. Just my opinion on where we are now and what is needed.
 
Cerberus Blade said:
I agree to a point. I think just being in the Prem bestows some sort of halo on a player, undeservedly in many cases. That’s why I posted a while ago rallying against this importance on “Prem experience”. I think it’s overrated. There are many good players outside the Prem who will have no problem playing there. And there are many “average” players in the Prem who will be playing their trade very soon in the lower leagues. Because they aren’t top standard.

Looking at our squad, in honesty, I don’t think the three I’ve mentioned will cut it in the Prem. Great servants though they’ve been. And Bash is a personal favourite of ours too! The guy has been immense. But sometimes there comes a step too far. And this is that step, for these lads, I think.

Would love to be wrong.
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Perfectly acceptable if you think it's a step too far, that's your opinion based on watching week in week out, it's the phrase "not Prem quality" that gets me, as though there's a handbook like there is for the ground regulations.

If we'd have been promoted 17/18, I would have been with you on Basham. He was at fault for a lot that season, heading stuff straight up in the air, giving away stupid fouls on the edge of the box, but last season I thought he really stepped it up defensively, and obviously he's a danger going forward too, so based on that, his fitness and his determination I'm backing him to do it again.

As for Baldock, he's one of a few for me that I genuinely think will remain in the PL or the top of the Championship for the rest of his career, don't think Man City will be eyeing him up or anything but he's a quality defensive wingback, with pace. Maybe his balls will look better with some quicker forwards to get on the end of them too.
 
10-0 win said:
Basham till june 2020 aswell, K Freeman and Stearman the same.
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No, Basham got a new contract up to June 2021. So did Sharp.
Freeman and Stearman haven’t played as regularly, so more understandable they haven’t been offered an extension.

Wilder has been very good at protecting the value of our players by making sure their contracts don’t run down. Even if we ultimately decide to move Baldock on, we could expect a good fee for him. If under contract.

www.bbc.co.uk

Basham signs new Sheffield United deal

Sheffield United defender Chris Basham signs a new two-and-a-half-year contract with the Championship high-fliers.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
bromtom said:
Perfectly acceptable if you think it's a step too far, that's your opinion based on watching week in week out, it's the phrase "not Prem quality" that gets me, as though there's a handbook like there is for the ground regulations.

If we'd have been promoted 17/18, I would have been with you on Basham. He was at fault for a lot that season, heading stuff straight up in the air, giving away stupid fouls on the edge of the box, but last season I thought he really stepped it up defensively, and obviously he's a danger going forward too, so based on that, his fitness and his determination I'm backing him to do it again.

As for Baldock, he's one of a few for me that I genuinely think will remain in the PL or the top of the Championship for the rest of his career, don't think Man City will be eyeing him up or anything but he's a quality defensive wingback, with pace. Maybe his balls will look better with some quicker forwards to get on the end of them too.
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"Maybe his balls will look better with some quicker forwards to get on the end of them too." :D Is he wearing see through shorts. I guess we need more female supporters and perhaps this is a way to attract them.Nice one Brom;)
 
Baldock will prove to be more than good enough at the level. His contract should be renewed as a matter of urgency. Defensively, he's already one of the best in the country. I'dlove to know all the RWB's/RB's everybody else is watching. I haven't seen them.
 
Cerberus Blade said:
Fair enough but we don’t select players on their BMI. (Body Mass Index).

I’ve nothing against the lad and he’s made some great contributions to the team. But if we play him at right back in the Prem we’ll get mullered! He’s just not good enough at that level. Not fast enough, can’t tackle.

Same for Baldock unfortunately.

And Basham is next after them.

That’s just the way it goes I think.
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I can understand criticism of Baldock and Freeman, and yes we may be able to do better but "not fast enough"? . They both especially Baldock seem pretty quick.
 
10-0 win said:
Basham till june 2020 aswell, K Freeman and Stearman the same.
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But imagine we secured another season in the Prem... would you be upset if we brought in better players in those positions for the following season?
 

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