PLAYER PROFILE

Chris Baird

Position: Defence

Height: 5'10

Weight: 11st 11lbs

Date of Birth: 1982-02-25 Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Chris Baird

Chris Baird progressed through the Southampton Academy and finally made his debut in March 2003 when he came on as a substitute.

It was a brief taste but it was enough to leave Baird hungry for more. The Northern Ireland Under 21 international came on five minutes from the end of a 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa.

He quickly showed he was not afraid to get stuck in - unlike one or two more senior colleagues who may have had one eye on the FA Cup semi-final.

However, it was at the end of the season when he found himself in the starting line-up for the FA Cup final, having made his first senior start only days previously.

Once the 2003/04 season got underway, it looked as though this was it for Baird, although he was still very much a fringe player. He enjoyed successful loan spells with Walsall and Watford, making 10 and 8 appearances respectively for each club, and, he made a handful of appearances for Southampton.

After the Saints were relegated from the top flight, he started to get more chances in the first team and after switching to centre-half in the 2006/07 season, he really started to attract top-flight attention.

In July 2007 he joined Fulham for £3.025m, and he is now a reliable utility man for Roy Hodgson.