I’m finding it incredibly hard to comprehend that former Sheffield United defender George Baldock has passed away at the age of just 31.

It’s always shocking when an athlete in his prime dies suddenly, but it hits particularly hard when you are talking about someone who played for seven years for the club you support.

Baldock was nothing short of a Bramall Lane legend, with the right back turning out for the Blades 219 times and being instrumental in not one but two promotions to the Premier League.

He was one of those players who left everything on the pitch, and once said he didn’t just hate losing but hated drawing just as much. His fight and determination endeared him to fans of every club he played for, earning him the nickname Furious George.

I found it quite sad when he left Sheffield this summer, but you can understand his desire to try something new in the latter stages of his career. And the offer to join Panathinaikos was obviously massively tempting for a player who became a Greek international a couple of years ago thanks to his grandmother’s heritage.

His fight and determination endeared him to fans of every club he played for

George, who turned out for his new club just last Sunday in the massive derby against Olympiakos, was found dead in his pool by the owner of the villa after his fiancée raised the alarm when she hadn’t been able to get in touch with him. He leaves behind not just a partner but a young daughter too, which adds further tragedy to an already deeply disturbing tale.

Tributes have flown in for George from former clubs, former teammates, international colleagues, football associations and just about everyone who ever crossed paths with a person who is universally described as being just the nicest possible man.

It’s not very often I feel emotionally tied to a story about someone I’ve never met. But I guess it’s different when you have watched that person play for your club week after week for the best part of a decade. You end up feeling like you know him.

Rest in peace, George. Once a Blade, forever a Blade.

Klopp get his wings

Sweepstake time: how long do we think it will be before Jürgen Klopp quits his new job and returns to the dugout?

From January, the former Dortmund and Liverpool boss will join Red Bull as their global head of soccer, advising the brand’s numerous football teams on playing style, transfers and coaching.

And with the Red Bull brand made up of teams in Germany, Austria, the US, Brazil and now England, Klopp is going to be a busy man.

Klopp stood down from his job at Anfield at the end of last season saying he was tired and drained after so many years in top-level management. Understandable I suppose. And, on that basis, this type of role seems like the perfect compromise, enabling him to impart his vast experience and football wisdom without being tied down by the day-to-day nitty gritty.

I suspect, however, that it is only a matter of time before being surrounded by football and energy drinks will make Klopp yearn to be back pitchside. The man has football flowing through his veins, and advising and consulting is not going to scratch his itch for long.

I give it six months, which would, coincidentally, just about coincide with the end of the season, when the managerial merry-go-round will be cranking up.

Meanwhile, Klopp’s new role has not gone down well in Germany where it’s pretty fair to say RB Leipzig are not everyone’s favourite team. They’ve only ‘existed’ since 2009, are corporately driven, and their compliance with the Bundesliga’s fan ownership rules is loose at best.

Equally, and somewhat more surprisingly, a lot of Liverpool fans are suggesting this is a betrayal and will tarnish his legacy.

While I can see why Germans might be a little unhappy with Klopp selling his soul to the corporate devil, I am not getting the Liverpool supporters’ point. He hasn’t gone to another club and will be little more than a pencil-pushing consultant, so where’s the harm?

Anyway, it won’t matter for long. He will be managing one club or another sooner rather than later, maybe even the German national team.

And then the moaning will really kick-off...

Gareth’s big break

Gareth Southgate announced last week that he won’t be doing any football management for the next 12 months. I don’t want to sound cruel, but how will that be any different from the last eight years?

Lee shoots himself in the foot

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

Up until last Thursday night you could have bet your mortgage on Lee Carsley being the next permanent England manager. His audition for the role began with two simple victories last month and should have continued with two more last Thursday against Greece and today against Finland.

But somehow he managed to cock it all up in spectacular fashion against Greece, picking a team and tactics that were so dysfunctional their opponents managed to stick the ball in the back of the net five times. That three of them were ruled offside actually does a disservice to the Greeks, who deserved to win by more.

I am all for a manager experimenting and trying new things. But not in competitive games and in such drastic fashion; and get it so badly wrong.

The Football Association probably thought they had solved their managerial issues in the simplest fashion by promoting from the Under-21s again. But last Friday morning they would undoubtedly have been rummaging in the bins and fishing out their pile of discarded CVs.

Play your card right

Chelsea are unquestionably the yellow card kings. But is that necessarily bad?

They currently have 27 bookings, the most of any team in the top-flight, which follows on from last season when they broke the Premier League yellow card record with an impressive 105. While that does sound a touch excessive, I am not going to agree with those saying this is a major issue.

Getting a booking can often, but not always of course, be a sign of commitment. An indication that the player is not afraid to go in for a 50/50 tackle or won’t shy out from taking one for the team.

If you are picking up yellows for stupid reasons, like kicking the ball away or barefaced dissent, then yes, there is a problem that needs addressing.

But context is important here. If players are getting booked through a burning desire not to lose a game or because of their determination to win back the ball, that shows they care.

And that is a quality that is often in short supply these days.

 

E-mail: James.calvert@timesofmalta.com

Twitter: @maltablade