John David Baird (born 22 August 1985) is a Scottish
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. He currently plays for
Football West State League Division 1
The Football West State League Division 1 is a regional Australian semi-professional association football league comprising teams from Western Australia. The league sits at Level 2 on the Western Australian league system (Level 3 of the overal ...
side
Mandurah City
Mandurah City Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Mandurah, Western Australia. Their home ground is Peelwood Reserve in Halls Head.
The club has 300 registered players which also includes Juniors, Social, Women, S ...
.
Baird has also previously played for Clyde, St Mirren,
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...
,
Airdrie United
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
,
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
,
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
,
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
,
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...
and
Forfar Athletic
Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...
where he was also the assistant manager.
Career
Clyde, St Mirren and Montrose
Baird, who was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, began his career with Clyde, and made his debut in May 2003, coming on as a substitute against Ayr United. Baird signed a professional contract with Clyde in July 2003, but only made one more appearance for the club, in the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,St Mirren, where he became a fringe player. He had loan spells at
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...
and Montrose, before signing for Montrose on a permanent transfer in July 2007. Upon the move, Manager Jim Weir made expectations for Baird and
Andy Rodgers
Andrew Rodgers (born 18 October 1983 in Falkirk) is a Scottish footballer and coach who plays as a forward for Syngenta.
Career
Rodgers began his career at Falkirk, scoring nine minutes into his debut after coming on as a substitute in a 2– ...
to become the top scorer in the Third Division.
After finishing the season as the league's top goal scorer, and being nominated for Third Division player of the year, Baird was a much sought after player with First and Second Division teams looking at him. However it was announced through the local press that John Baird had signed a new, lucrative contract with Montrose for at least one more year. He has stated his desire to see Montrose promoted and also his eventual aim to get himself back to playing full-time football.
Airdrie United, Raith Rovers and Dundee
Manager Weir was axed after a 2–1 defeat away at Cowdenbeath in September. The move saw Calum Smith go in the other direction. Baird waited until deadline day in January 2009 to make his decision to join
Airdrie United
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...
, Baird enjoyed a successful second half of the 2008–09 season where he established himself as a first-team player with the new Diamonds. Baird scored crucial goals in the play-off including a hat-trick against Ayr Utd battle to keep the club in the First Division.
On 26 May 2010, he signed for Raith Rovers on a two-year full-time deal. Since his arrival at Starks Park, Baird has become a fans' favourite, scoring 13 league goals in his first season with the Kirkcaldy outfit during their 2010–11 title push. However, Raith Rovers' title push came to an end after losing 2–1 to Dunfermline Athletic. Despite this, Baird was named the First Division Player of the Year and also was named player of the year in the Irn Bru Phenomenal awards.
Baird signed for
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
in May 2012. While at Dundee, Baird appeared in the first team, making 37 appearances, though his playing time significantly decreased. It wasn't until 19 January 2013 that he scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw against Hibernian. He went on to score three goals in three consecutive games against
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
.
Partick Thistle, Raith return
He then signed for newly promoted side
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
in May 2013. However, on 28 January 2014, Baird was released by Partick Thistle after an unsuccessful time having started four games and making a further 13 substitute appearances without scoring a single competitive goal.
On 30 January 2014, Baird returned for a second spell at Raith Rovers. Baird's first game after signing for the club in his second spell came on 1 February 2014 when Raith Rovers lost 1–0 against Cowdenbeath and then scored his first goal two weeks later, in a 4–2 loss against Hamilton Academical. He scored the winner for Raith in the
Challenge Cup Final
The Challenge Cup of Rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley Bulldogs, Batley and St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Headingley, ...
, beating
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
On 20 May 2014, Baird signed for Queen of the South on a two-year contract. Baird was released by the club on 5 January 2015.
On 7 January 2015, Baird signed for Falkirk, where he joined up with Mark Kerr, who had also recently departed the
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
club. On signing for the club, he commented that he had always admired Falkirk, saying "Falkirk is a club I've always respected and when I walked in the door Alex Smith told me I'd been nipping his ear for four years to get here." He scored on his debut for the club, a 3–3 draw away to Hibernian on 10 January 2015. On 24 February 2015, Baird signed a new contract with Falkirk, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2015–16 season with the option of an additional year.
Inverness
Baird signed for
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
in June 2017. He Scored his first goal & his first hat-trick for ICT in a 4–1 friendly away win at
Brora Rangers
Brora Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club from the village of Brora, Sutherland, in the Highland council area of Scotland. They play in the Highland Football League, of which they have been champions four times, having won thei ...
He made his first competitive start for ICT in their first game of the season, the opening game of the Scottish League Cup group stages, a 3–0 home win against
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...
He retained his starting place for the following match, a 0–0 draw away at
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...
, a match which set a record as the lowest scoring penalty shootout in Scottish football history. Baird was one of those who failed to score as Inverness won the shootout 2–0. He scored his first competitive goal for the Caley Jags a week later in a 2–1 away win at
Forfar Athletic
Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...
, although it wasn't enough for the club to progress from their League Cup group.
Greenock Morton (loan)
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...
announced on 22 February that they had agreed to sign Baird on an emergency loan from
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
Forfar Athletic
Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...
as a player/assistant manager on 3 May 2018. Baird scored 22 goals in 44 appearances for the club, before leaving at the end of the season to move to Australia.
Raith return
In September 2019, Baird re-signed for Raith Rovers, joining the club for a third spell, claiming to have "unfinished business" at the club. However, he left with his family to Australia in June 2020, unfortunately without finishing the business he desired, due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
postponing all footballing tournaments including a
Challenge Cup Final
The Challenge Cup of Rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley Bulldogs, Batley and St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Headingley, ...
, which would've pitted him up against a former club,
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
.
Mandurah City
Baird moved to Western Australian club
Mandurah City
Mandurah City Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Mandurah, Western Australia. Their home ground is Peelwood Reserve in Halls Head.
The club has 300 registered players which also includes Juniors, Social, Women, S ...
in 2020, and became their head coach. He signed
Leigh Griffiths
Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City.
Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...
to the club in August 2022.
Career statistics
Honours
Player
Raith Rovers
*
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...