Richard Peter Baker (born 29 December 1987) is an English
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 ...
who plays for
Northern Premier League Division One West side
Ramsbottom
Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872.
Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, northwest of Bu ...
, where he plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Early career
Manchester United
Richie began his career in the highly successful
Manchester United Academy, where he played as a
right-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, and was understudy to
Danny Simpson
Daniel Peter Simpson (born 4 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who last played as a right-back for Championship side Bristol City.
A product of the Manchester United academy, Simpson played on loan for Royal Antwerp, Sunderla ...
, which somewhat restricted Baker to much playing time, he also played alongside the likes of
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (, ; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered one of the best defenders of his generation.
Initially a highly promising student at La Masia, Piqué ...
,
Fraizer Campbell
Fraizer Lee Campbell (born 13 September 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker, most recently for Huddersfield Town. He has also played for Manchester United, Royal Antwerp, Hull City, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, ...
and
Giuseppe Rossi
Giuseppe Rossi (; born 1 February 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in the United States, Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal and Fiorentina, in addition to spells with other clubs in England, I ...
, during his time at
Old Trafford.
Playing career
Preston North End
Following the decision by
Manchester United to release Baker, he joined
EFL Championship side
Preston North End as a trainee, but failed to make a breakthrough into the first team and was released at the end of the
2005–06 season.
Bury
Baker went to join
Bury, and made his full debut 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 ...
victory over
Sunderland playing as a central midfielder, and after that game established himself as a first-team regular, scoring six goals in 107 appearances.
Oxford United
Richie joined
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
at the start of the 2010–11 season, but failed to win a regular place in the team.
Barrow
He left Oxford United on 4 January 2011 when his contract expired. Baker then signed for
Barrow on 15 February 2011, making his debut against
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
four days later. In May 2011, he was offered a new contract by Barrow.
Baker became a major part of the Barrow team for the subsequent two seasons. However, he left when they were relegated in May 2013.
Tamworth
Baker joined
Tamworth on 24 May 2013.
Stockport County
Baker signed for
Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
side
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
on 3 August 2014, following some impressive displays whilst on trial, in particular scoring a brace in a pre-season friendly against
Conference National side
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
AFC Fylde
Baker signed for Conference North side
AFC Fylde
AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm.
Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesh ...
on 13 March 2015. He made his debut the next day in a 2–2 draw at local rivals Chorley. On 11 May 2017, it was announced that Baker would leave Fylde upon the expiry of his current deal in June 2017.
F.C. United of Manchester
In July 2017, he signed for
F.C. United of Manchester
Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park.
Found ...
. He left the club on 2 September by mutual consent.
Curzon Ashton
On 23 September 2017, he signed for
Curzon Ashton
Curzon Ashton Football Club is an association football club based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1963 and nicknamed "The Nash", the club is affiliated to the Manchester Football Association and currently compete ...
Lancaster City
On 30 June 2018, it was announced that Baker had dropped down a division to sign for
Northern Premier League Premier Division side
Lancaster City, managed by Phil Brown.
Colne
On 11 December 2018, Baker was announced as signing for
Colne
Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds.
The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...
. He re-joined the club on 23 June 2019.
Ramsbottom United
On 16 November 2019, he joined
Ramsbottom United who were managed by Chris Wilcock.
Saturday's transfer list – November 16th – The BetVictor ...
betvictornorthernpremier.co.uk, 16 November 2019. He made 27 appearances for the club over three season.
Clitheroe
In August 2021, he signed for Northern Premier League Division One West rivals Clitheroe
Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...
, where he teamed up with former Ramsbottom duo Billy Priestley and Gary Stopforth who were joint-managers.
Career statistics
References
External links
Richie Baker Profile
a
BarrowAFC.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Richie
1987 births
Living people
Footballers from Burnley
English men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Manchester United F.C. players
Preston North End F.C. players
Bury F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Barrow A.F.C. players
Tamworth F.C. players
Stockport County F.C. players
AFC Fylde players
F.C. United of Manchester players
Curzon Ashton F.C. players
Lancaster City F.C. players
Colne F.C. players
Ramsbottom United F.C. players
Clitheroe F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Northern Premier League players