‘He’s just like a new signing’ – Fulham’s answer to their central midfield questions have been provided by an unexpected source.
Two of Fulham’s key midfielders left in the summer, with Danny Murphy choosing to drop down a division to Blackburn and Moussa Dembele stepping up to Champions League chasing Tottenham.
With Dembele sold so late and Fulham unable to spend the £15 million on a top class replacement, there was a chance the central midfield area could have been a real weak point this season, but largely it has not panned out that way.
The only player they were able to bring in was the ageing free agent Giorgos Karagounis, who is yet to make his presence really felt, with last season’s Mahamadou Diarra facing on-off injuries too.
Fortunately there have been two bright spots, the exciting youngster Alex Kacaniklic, and the sublime Chris Baird.
After playing his whole career in defence, it was very much an experiment for Martin Jol to play him regularly in midfield (which he first tried last season), but it is one the Dutch manager is not regretting after giving him an extended spell there.
Baird has become a cult figure with the fans at Craven Cottage, enhancing his nickname of ‘Bairdinho’, a tongue in cheek reference to his silky skills and deft touches.
This season he has played 10 matches for Fulham in central midfield, scoring twice, including a winner over Aston Villa. He was highly impressive on Monday night in the 2-1 victory over Newcastle, ending a run of eight games without a win for the club after an excellent start.
Baird even tops the Premier League stats in the number of interceptions per game (3.8), above Arsenal’s Sandro and Kieran Gibbs. Rivals QPR’s top player is Ryan Nelson (2.8).
We are sure Baird was thought of as a bit of a stop gap in the middle of the park, but even though he is no spring chicken at the age of 30, it could well be where his long-term future lies if recent performances are anything to go by.
He is an unlikely hero, last season he found himself reduced to the role of utility man under Jol, spending much of the season as a back-up full-back to Stephen Kelly, but this season he has seized his chances.
There have been a number of impressive performances this season from players around the league, but we’d go as far as to say nobody has improved quite as much, and unexpectedly, as Chris Baird.
The credit must go to Baird, but also Martin Jol, who has an eye for these things, after converting Moussa Dembele from a forward to a central midfielder last season.
Who knows, Jol the magician’s next trick may be getting that Michael Jackson statue to work wonders in the middle of the park…
Is Baird the most improved player in the league? If not then who is?
image: © Tom Cuppens
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