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 lea ...

who plays for

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

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 lies on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, north-west of Bur ...

, where he plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, and was understudy to

Danny Simpson Daniel Peter Simpson (born 4 January 1987) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back. He started his career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester United in the Premier League, later loaned for ...

, 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 to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

, Fraizer Campbell and

Giuseppe Rossi Giuseppe Rossi (; born 1 February 1987) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Born in the United States, Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal CF, Vi ...

, during his time at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

Playing career

Preston North End

Following the decision by

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

to release Baker, he joined

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

side

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

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 victory over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

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 association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

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 association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

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, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

side

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

on 3 August 2014, following some impressive displays whilst on trial, in particular scoring a brace in a pre-season friendly against

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

side

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

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 Wes ...

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, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional association football, football club based in Moston, Manchester, Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English ...

. 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

Premier Division side

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Foot ...

, managed by Phil Brown.

Colne

On 11 December 2018, Baker was announced as signing for

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

. 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

Division One West rivals

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, 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 to ...

, where he teamed up with former Ramsbottom duo Billy Priestley and Gary Stopforth who were joint-managers. Ramsbottom manager, Lee Donafee, stated that Clitheroe "made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Stopforth is a very good friend of his and they offered him a good deal, maybe helping them out with coaching and that which is a real shame for us."

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 21st-century English sportsmen