| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian James Baird[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-04-01)1 April 1964 (age 61) | ||
| Place of birth | Rotherham, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1982 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1985 | Southampton | 22 | (5) |
| 1983–1984 | →Cardiff City (loan) | 12 | (6) |
| 1984 | →Newcastle United (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1985–1987 | Leeds United | 85 | (33) |
| 1987–1988 | Portsmouth | 20 | (1) |
| 1988–1990 | Leeds United | 77 | (17) |
| 1990–1991 | Middlesbrough | 63 | (19) |
| 1991–1993 | Hearts | 64 | (15) |
| 1993–1995 | Bristol City | 57 | (11) |
| 1995–1996 | Plymouth Argyle[a] | 27 | (5) |
| 1996–1997 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 44 | (14) |
| 1997–1998 | Instant-Dict FC | 22 | (18) |
| Total | 498 | (145) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998 | Instant-Dict | ||
| 1999 | Hong Kong | ||
| 2004–2007 | Havant & Waterlooville | ||
| 2007–2012 | Eastleigh | ||
| 2014–2019 | Sutton United (assistant) | ||
| 2019 | Sutton United (caretaker) | ||
| 2019–2023 | Havant & Waterlooville (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ian James Baird (born 1 April 1964) is an English former professionalfootballer whose most notable spells were as aLeeds United player. During his first period at the club he spent a season as captain. He won aplayer of the year award in his second stint inWest Yorkshire, as well as a Second Division Championship medal (following his departure). He played as astriker.
Baird was born inRotherham,West Riding of Yorkshire, England but grew up inHampshire.[2]
Baird started his career playing for local sides Bitterne Saints andSt. Mary's College before signing withSouthampton in1982–83. He was also chosen to represent Hampshire at county level and was capped for England at schoolboy level. He turned professional in April 1982 and played a handful of matches for the first team.[2] He spent part of the1983–84 season on loan atCardiff City scoring six goals in 12 appearances. Discussions were held over making the transfer permanent but Cardiff eventually pulled out of the deal over the proposed fee.[3] At the start of the1984–85 season, he moved on loan toNewcastle United, making five appearances, scoring one goal,[4] and wasbooked in all of his appearances.[2]
In March 1985 after only 22 appearances and five goals for Southampton he moved toLeeds United for £75,000,[2] having turned down transfers toManchester City andMiddlesbrough earlier in the season.[5] He made his debut for the club in a 3–1 defeat toPortsmouth on 12 March 1985, scoring his first goal in his fourth appearance, a 2–1 victory over Manchester City one month later.[6]
Despite not scoring many goals, Baird's first spell at Leeds was a success. His aggression, whole-hearted attitude, skill and goals made him immensely popular amongst the Leeds fans. Baird was made Leeds captain by managerBilly Bremner at the start ofthe 1986–87 season and his performances alertedPortsmouth to his abilities, as he helped lead Leeds to both the FA Cup semi-final (lost 2–3 (aet) toCoventry City and the final of the inaugural Second Division promotion/First Division relegation play-offs. Leeds drew the two-legged play-offs final withCharlton Athletic (1–0, 0–1) but lost a one-off deciding rubber (1–2 aet) atSt Andrews and remained in the Second Division.
At the end of the 1986–87 season, Baird's contract with Leeds had expired leaving him free to move elsewhere. After rejecting Bremner's contract offer to remain with Leeds,[5] he received offers fromCeltic,Aberdeen,Queens Park Rangers andWest Ham United, he eventually signed with Portsmouth, newly promoted to theFirst Division. He was sold for £285,000, a record fee for Portsmouth that had been decided by tribunal.[7] Keen to move back to the South of England, he was signed as a replacement forMicky Quinn, who was expected to leave the club soon after and his sale used to fund Baird's arrival.[7] However, Quinn refused to move to either of the two clubs interested,Millwall andWatford, leaving the club short of funds and resulting in Portsmouth chairman John Deacon looking to sell Baird days after his arrival.[7]
Baird remained with the club but struggled for form, clashing with managerAlan Ball Jr. He was dropped from the first team over the Christmas period and was made to train away from the rest of the squad, along withKenny Swain, after criticising Ball in a newspaper interview. Scoring only one goal in his 20 appearances for the club, during a 2–1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers, in the1987–88 season.[7] Baird later described his move to Portsmouth as "100-per-cent the worst decision I made in my career."[7]
Portsmouth were struggling financially and in March 1988, Baird was sold back to Leeds for less than half the price they bought him for (£120,000). Baird was once again successful at Leeds picking up player of the year in 1989 but the arrival ofLee Chapman, to help with the promotion push in1989–90, led to a fallout between Baird and managerHoward Wilkinson. Baird took Chapman's arrival as an attempt to replace him leading to a confrontation with Wilkinson which resulted in Baird demanding a transfer away from Leeds.[5] Despite Wilkinson's attempts to dissuade him, including an offer of an improved contract,[5] he decided to leave the club having played 77 league games and scored 17 goals.[4]
In January 1990 he was sold toMiddlesbrough for £500,000. Baird's involvement in the championship didn't stop there. On the last day of the season Baird scored two goals against Newcastle United, and this along with Leeds' victory overAFC Bournemouth clinched promotion for Leeds over Newcastle in third place (Leeds winning the title on goal difference overSheffield United). With Leeds winning the title Baird picked up a winners medal, even though he was not at Leeds any more due to him having played enough games for the club in the season.[5]
Baird stayed at Boro until the end of1990–91 when he moved toHearts on a two-year contract, being persuaded to join by his former Southampton teammateJoe Jordan who was managing the club. He scored on his debut for the club in August 1991 during a victory overAirdrieonians F.C.[8] In his first season, Baird enjoyed a strong start to the season, scoring eight times. However, he suffered a torn thigh muscle that restricted his appearances and later claimed that returning early from the injury severely affected his form as he failed to score during the second half of the season.[8]
During a match against Aberdeen in April 1993, Baird played as a goalkeeper afterNicky Walker suffered an injury in the prematch warm-up. With no reserve goalkeeper, Baird was chosen to take his place as Hearts went on to lose 3–2. He was offered a new contract at the end of the season but rejected the offer.[8]
He later returned to England, playing forBristol City andPlymouth Argyle before joiningBrighton & Hove Albion.[4] At Brighton, he was involved in the club's relegation battle during the1996–97 season when they avoided dropping out of the Football League on the last day of the season after drawing 1–1 withHereford United, who were relegated instead.[9] Mounting injury problems eventually forced Baird to retire in 1997 after being advised by a surgeon that continuing would damage his knee.[9]
He was later invited to play in Hong Kong byMike Leonard and signed an 18-month contract withInstant-Dict after an initial trial period. However, further knee problems eventually led to him retiring again.[9]
After retiring from his playing career Ian went to Hong Kong taking charge ofInstant-Dict, a team in their top division, and also thenational side in 1999 for the2000 Asian Cup qualifiers. He also played non-league football forSalisbury City (1997–2000) andFarnborough Town (2000–2001).
After returning from Hong Kong he worked for aLeeds-based football agent but resigned after 3 years as he didn't enjoy the job. Ian set up his own contract hire andvehicle leasing company in 2003.
He took over the part-time managerial post atHavant & Waterlooville in November 2004. He currently lives inSouthampton with his second wife and two teenage children.
On 3 October 2007, he was appointed manager atConference South rivalsEastleigh,[10] taking over fromDavid Hughes. After five years in charge, he was dismissed on 11 September 2012.[11]
Baird was appointed assistant manager atSutton United in October 2014 under manager Paul Doswell.[12] At the end of March 2019, Doswell was fired and Baird took over as caretaker manager. Baird left the club on 29 April 2019.[13]
In May 2019, Paul Doswell was appointed manager ofHavant & Waterlooville and Baird followed him as his assistant.[14] Baird resigned in August 2023.[15]
Baird's authorised biography,Bairdy's Gonna Get Ya!: The Ian Baird Story, written by Marc Bracha, was published in September 2013.[16]
Plymouth Argyle
