Carl Baker Update - Mike Baker RIP

[outsider]

Great to see him continue his scoring run, sad to hear his brother lost the fight against leukemia during the week.


Prayers and thoughts are with you and your family

[morecambe mick]

Would like to echo the sentiments above, a brave lad.

[heysham_mfc]

very sad news
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/13092009/ ... agedy.html

[Heysham_Shrimp]

It was his elder brother Mike Baker who passed away. He used to post on here.

His younger brother is still battling leukemia.

Carl has scored 2 hat-tricks and a brace so far this season.

[marky No.1]

R.I.P. Mike

Condolences to Carl and his family

[John L]

I heard about Mike on Thursday and was about to post something on here until I saw this thread. Although I never met Mike, he came across as very courageous and with a great sense of humour. For someone with these qualities to succumb at 34 years of age (I'm only a year older) is a terrible shame and a massive loss to his family, friends and the world in general. I've passed my condolences on to Carl through Facebook. Rest in peace, Mike.

[Christies Child]

I join with the rest of the Shrimps family in my condolences to the Baker family

[cragbankshrimp]

Things like this put our lack of points, and other footballing issues in perspective.
RIP Mike

[Bare Ben]

RIP Mike, my condolences to Carl and the Baker family.

[heysham_mfc]

RIP thoughts with Carl and family

[hunter8]

thinking of you all carl and lyndsey and all your family. Hunter family x

[shrimper]

That's stunned me. Anyone know how? I had a few PM exchanges with Mike when his younger brother was diagnosed. I knew a youngster who had it as well but made a full recovery after treatment and Mike and I passed goodwill messages back and forth.

[John L]

That's stunned me. Anyone know how? I had a few PM exchanges with Mike when his younger brother was diagnosed. I knew a youngster who had it as well but made a full recovery after treatment and Mike and I passed goodwill messages back and forth.

Here's a couple of messages from his support group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=34401681589

2nd September: OK since I last posted I have had more news about what is going to happen.
I have had the PICC line inserted today in my arm wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but is uncomfortable but hey ho what can you do.
I also seen my consultant and basically the prognosis is bleak I have a less than one in two chance of survival meaning about 30% but I have plus points in the fact that I have 2 donors on stand by ( Tommy and Scott thanks lads ) and I am only 34 just ( I know I look younger but they said that wouldn't help ) I am strong and I am in good spirit all that together I would say in my opinion (not the doctors) gives me about 50/50.
The 30% I was given is the national average in that average though you have old people and weak people all sadly that have less of a chance than I do but they are also given the 30% chance ...well because that is the national average. ( sorry if I am confusing you ).
They wanted to start chemo on Monday but ive asked if it can be done on Tuesday its Jaz's birthday on Monday and I wanted to be home for that and they have agreed (woohoo partyyyy) I will be starting Chemo on Tuesday for what is expected to be 6 days of treatment but it means I have to be in hospital for at least 5 weeks (if you think I was gutted about that wait till the nurses find out most will resign LMAO ) anyway I am hoping to be back in remission after 5 weeks and hopefully allowed home for a break before they transfer me to the Royal in Liverpool to begin the hardest part ...the transplant.
Sarah will update you on how I am and whats gonna happen next cos until I have had the chemo am I am not entirely sure until I see the Proffesor at the Royal.

So whilst there is a chance there will be a smile.

Keep safe but mostly keep smiling (it makes the rain go away )

Mike xx

As most of you know by now Mike was diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukaemia just over a week ago and is undergoing chemotherapy to treat it. Mike is now on day 5 of his first lot of chemotherapy, and so far things seem to be moving in the right direction for him. As far as the near future goes we are expecting Mike to be in hospital for at least another 3 weeks, so i will keep everyone updated on here as to his treatment, and Mike will take this over when he is well enough to come home.

12th September: My hero. My lover. My best freind. R.I.P Mike, this world just wont be the same without you. I Love you so much xxxxxxxxx

As most of you will know by now, sadly Mike passed away. I am glad I was lucky enough to have the oppertunity to tell him i loved him, and the knowledge that he was in no pain when this happened.

Mikes funeral is to be held this thursday at 12pm (17/09/09) at St Lukes church, Prescot, for anyone who wishes to attend, followed by his burial, then Whiston Labour Club around 2pm.

I know Mike will be sadly missed by so many people and I hope that everyone will have been touched by his sincerity, hope and humour for many years to come.

Thanks everyone for all your suport, it means so much to us all

Sarah xx

Sobering.

[Keith]

Sadly Mike had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. He'd recently begun a further period of treatment. I met Mike a couple of times and he was a really nice bloke. Condolences to all his family.

[Mark S]

He was a top bloke. His sense of humour was wicked and they way he embraced our club when Carl played for us was refreshing.

Mike was only 34. Leukaemia is a vicious and horrible disease that takes victims down quickly without mercy.

Maybe we could have a collection and donate in his memory?

Matty is running the Great North Run on Sunday for Leukaemia Research. Maybe Matty could run for Mike and we could all donate £2 in his memory?

http://www.justgiving.com/Matt-Deighton/

My thoughts are with his family. They have lost a top guy.

[Christies Child]

He was a top bloke. His sense of humour was wicked and they way he embraced our club when Carl played for us was refreshing.

Mike was only 34. Leukaemia is a vicious and horrible disease that takes victims down quickly without mercy.

Maybe we could have a collection and donate in his memory?

Matty is running the Great North Run on Sunday for Leukaemia Research. Maybe Matty could run for Mike and we could all donate £2 in his memory?
http://www.justgiving.com/Matt-Deighton/

My thoughts are with his family. They have lost a top guy.

Loosing a job is nothing to loosing a life.

£5 on its way to 'just giving'

[marky No.1]

"So whilst there is a chance there will be a smile.

Keep safe but mostly keep smiling (it makes the rain go away )

Mike xx "

Humbled ~ My mum used to say that

[Mighty Red]

I used to enjoy reading Mike's posts on here, especially of his support for his family.

RIP

[The Fury]

In an age when football is a multi-million pound global business I often struggle to relate to the game and its protagonists, who have become remote celebrity figures with little in common with the people who pay handsomely to watch them.

But every now and again a story comes along that unlocks something emotional locked away deep inside me, the sort that really makes me feel as though I can empathise with a footballer once more.

This is one of them.

League One Stockport drew 2-2 at Yeovil on Saturday. It was a result which took both teams on to six points so far in the season and was in many ways unremarkable.

What made it significant was that both the Stockport goals were scored by Hatters forward Carl Baker, taking his tally to nine goals for the season and making him the highest scorer in the country this season.

Just days earlier Stockport manager Gary Ablett had the unenviable task of breaking the news to Baker that the player's elder brother Michael had lost his battle against leukaemia.

Baker was under no pressure to play on Saturday but called Ablett on Thursday evening to say that he wanted to be part of the team.

After putting Stockport in front with his 22nd minute penalty he raced to the dugout and collected a T-shirt he had prepared in advance. It said 'For u Mike' and Baker held it aloft while all of his team-mates, goalkeeper included, rushed to join him.

At the end of the game Baker was sent over to the away supporters by Ablett. A couple of hundred had made the long trek south to Huish Park and they presented the striker with a card that everyone in the away end had signed.

Baker was hugged by many of them and I'm told that it was a genuinely emotional moment. For me, it is an example of what football is really all about.

Baker's brother had been in attendance at Stockport's previous home game and I could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Carl to retain his focus and concentration for last Saturday's match.

Perhaps it provided a distraction for Carl, who has been in brilliant form this season; a real bag of tricks playing just behind the main striker. Perhaps he felt that if he played he might score and would then have the opportunity to make a public demonstration of his feelings for his older brother.

To make matters even worse, Baker's younger brother also has leukaemia and it is obviously an extremely difficult time for the whole family.

I'm told that Baker is a typical scouser, a little bit cheeky, a very bubbly character and fun to be around. Now 26, he came into the professional game relatively late having joined Morecambe in 2007.

It means that he appreciates every single day he spends as a professional player. In my experience professionals who have previously worked in a 'normal' job often have a greater appreciation of the privilege of being paid to play the game.

Stockport brought him to Edgeley Park in July 2008 for a figure in the region of £200,000 - a lot of money in the lower leagues. He is clearly at the right club.

The Hatters are currently in administration but they have gone above and beyond what could be expected to raise the profile of Leukaemia Research.

The club's players wore a cerise pink and black striped shirt for their pre-season friendlies. It has a historical connection as they are the colours Stockport wore in 1900, but the Leukaemia Research logo was featured on them.

The shirts are now being auctioned off to raise money for the charity and are fetching £200 a piece. The players and staff at the club have pitched in to buy one for £500.

With Stockport in administration they aren't a particularly attractive proposition for business investment so every unused advertising board at Edgeley Park is currently filled with one for Leukaemia Research.

When a board is eventually sold the club, despite their financial travails, are donating 30% of the fee to Leukaemia Research.

The club decided to raise money for the charity as a Baker and several other staff at the club have relations suffering from blood cancer diseases. As someone at Stockport told me: "We might have done a lot wrong at the club but we have got this just about right."

I couldn't agree more. Thousands of words are written every weekend about the latest flare-up in the Premier League, the hottest transfer rumour or the latest takeover talk.

But I cannot help but feel that Baker's courage, his bond with the Hatters supporters and Stockport's willingness to embrace such a worthy cause chimes with what made me first fall in love with football.

And I wish all of them well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2009/09/carl_baker_and_stockport_an_ex.html

[marky No.1]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2009/09/carl_baker_and_stockport_an_ex.html

Av very moving piece that. Its a shame tho that it takes something like this to bring the football community together (see the comments at the bottom of the page)

On a positive note congratulations to Carl for being the countrys top scorer

[Wednesdayite]

In an age when football is a multi-million pound global business I often struggle to relate to the game and its protagonists, who have become remote celebrity figures with little in common with the people who pay handsomely to watch them.

But every now and again a story comes along that unlocks something emotional locked away deep inside me, the sort that really makes me feel as though I can empathise with a footballer once more.

This is one of them.

League One Stockport drew 2-2 at Yeovil on Saturday. It was a result which took both teams on to six points so far in the season and was in many ways unremarkable.

What made it significant was that both the Stockport goals were scored by Hatters forward Carl Baker, taking his tally to nine goals for the season and making him the highest scorer in the country this season.

Just days earlier Stockport manager Gary Ablett had the unenviable task of breaking the news to Baker that the player's elder brother Michael had lost his battle against leukaemia.

Baker was under no pressure to play on Saturday but called Ablett on Thursday evening to say that he wanted to be part of the team.

After putting Stockport in front with his 22nd minute penalty he raced to the dugout and collected a T-shirt he had prepared in advance. It said 'For u Mike' and Baker held it aloft while all of his team-mates, goalkeeper included, rushed to join him.

At the end of the game Baker was sent over to the away supporters by Ablett. A couple of hundred had made the long trek south to Huish Park and they presented the striker with a card that everyone in the away end had signed.

Baker was hugged by many of them and I'm told that it was a genuinely emotional moment. For me, it is an example of what football is really all about.

Baker's brother had been in attendance at Stockport's previous home game and I could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Carl to retain his focus and concentration for last Saturday's match.

Perhaps it provided a distraction for Carl, who has been in brilliant form this season; a real bag of tricks playing just behind the main striker. Perhaps he felt that if he played he might score and would then have the opportunity to make a public demonstration of his feelings for his older brother.

To make matters even worse, Baker's younger brother also has leukaemia and it is obviously an extremely difficult time for the whole family.

I'm told that Baker is a typical scouser, a little bit cheeky, a very bubbly character and fun to be around. Now 26, he came into the professional game relatively late having joined Morecambe in 2007.

It means that he appreciates every single day he spends as a professional player. In my experience professionals who have previously worked in a 'normal' job often have a greater appreciation of the privilege of being paid to play the game.

Stockport brought him to Edgeley Park in July 2008 for a figure in the region of £200,000 - a lot of money in the lower leagues. He is clearly at the right club.

The Hatters are currently in administration but they have gone above and beyond what could be expected to raise the profile of Leukaemia Research.

The club's players wore a cerise pink and black striped shirt for their pre-season friendlies. It has a historical connection as they are the colours Stockport wore in 1900, but the Leukaemia Research logo was featured on them.

The shirts are now being auctioned off to raise money for the charity and are fetching £200 a piece. The players and staff at the club have pitched in to buy one for £500.

With Stockport in administration they aren't a particularly attractive proposition for business investment so every unused advertising board at Edgeley Park is currently filled with one for Leukaemia Research.

When a board is eventually sold the club, despite their financial travails, are donating 30% of the fee to Leukaemia Research.

The club decided to raise money for the charity as a Baker and several other staff at the club have relations suffering from blood cancer diseases. As someone at Stockport told me: "We might have done a lot wrong at the club but we have got this just about right."

I couldn't agree more. Thousands of words are written every weekend about the latest flare-up in the Premier League, the hottest transfer rumour or the latest takeover talk.

But I cannot help but feel that Baker's courage, his bond with the Hatters supporters and Stockport's willingness to embrace such a worthy cause chimes with what made me first fall in love with football.

And I wish all of them well.

This is one the main swfc sites too.

Very very sad and my condolences from all at S6 too.

[Posh]

Lovely guy was Mike, who in turn helped raise awareness of the issue through his younger brother. Very sad and Carl in turn, plus his club, is now making more people aware both by his gestures and through doing what he does on the pitch. Humbling really

We've obviously got some money over from the banner (£50) and this can be chucked into the pot and send it through to Stockport County?????

[eggchaser]

Carl Just scored a penalty for Stockport against Tranmere and when he celebrated he turned up his collar and he had 'MIKE' written on the underside of his collar, fantastic tribute to him... also Carl looks in unbelievable form and he has looked a class above everyone else!

[marky No.1]

Carl Just scored a penalty for Stockport against Tranmere and when he celebrated he turned up his collar and he had 'MIKE' written on the underside of his collar, fantastic tribute to him... also Carl looks in unbelievable form and he has looked a class above everyone else!

He also got Man of the Match and umpteen mentions by Graham Dark and Simon Grayson who also referred to him arriving via Southport and Morecambe

I sense if his form continues the Championship beckons ~ well done