Matthew Christopher J. Baker (born 18 December 1979) is an English former

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 played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He stood as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

council candidate in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in 2010 but was not elected.

Football career

Baker comes from

, and played for four years with Leeds City Boys. He was originally on the books of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

as a schoolboy. However, he was signed as an apprentice at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

in 1996 and progressed through the youth ranks and turned professional in 1998. However, he suffered an horrendous knee injury which sidelined him for a season, but he eventually made two substitute appearances for the first team. He also made a sub appearance in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

, after Lee Bracey was sent off. He was released, after a spell on loan at

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

, in 2000. He was snapped up by

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

of the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

, where he was second choice goalkeeper to Scott Cooksey in the 2000–01 season, although he started two league matches conceding a goal in each. However a serious wrist injury forced Cooksey onto the sidelines, and eventually into retirement, meaning Baker started the 2001–02 season as first choice keeper where he impressed. He quickly established himself in the team and played all but five first team matches that season. Most notably he had an inspired Man-of-the-Match performance in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

against future club Wrexham, a match which was televised live by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, as Hereford won 1–0. The following season he gained experience training with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, and was an ever-present in the first team where he repeated this consistency in the 2003–04 season when Hereford came close to promotion to the Football League, a season which turned out to be his last for Hereford. During this period he also made four appearances for his country by representing the England National Game XI. In the summer of 2004 he signed for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. However, he spent only six months at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C. It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home i ...

before signing for

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

, for whom he quickly became a fans favourite, and helped them survive relegation in his first season, and went on to make over 60 first team appearances. Two years later he signed for Conference side Weymouth on a free transfer. However, due to severe financial troubles, at the Terras, he never made a first team appearance. On 2 March 2007 he was loaned to Rushden & Diamonds where he finished the season as number 1. On 20 July he joined

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

on trial but despite again impressing was forced to retire from the game in August 2007 due to a reoccurrence of a knee injury. Shortly afterwards he became a presenter for Dons World, the Milton Keynes Dons' official web TV station, having started a degree in Sports Journalism & Broadcasting in 2006. He graduated with a degree from

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

in summer of 2008 and now works as a sports journalist for The Sun newspaper and BBC local radio stations.

Political career

Baker is an active

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

member and a local resident of Weetwood Ward, where he stood to be a

City Councillor in the 2010 local elections but failed. He was also a member of Conservative candidate Julia Mulligan's campaign team in the 2010 General election.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Matt 1979 births Living people Footballers from Harrogate English men's footballers Leeds United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players England men's semi-pro international footballers English Football League players National League (English football) players Alumni of Staffordshire University Conservative Party (UK) politicians British sportsperson-politicians Men's association football goalkeepers People from Weetwood