Source: FOOTYMAD
Carl Baker is victim of his reputation
Baker claims referees made mistakes Coventry City's combative midfielder Carl Baker has claimed he has been given a false reputation for foul play and that referees are looking out him to make mistakes and punish him. Baker has played a total of 86 minutes so far this season and has received three yellow and one red card, which he thinks is unfair. Baker was dismissed at Millwall for two yellow cards, the second when he kicked the ball away. Boothroyd was furious with the player at the time, but has since spoken to the player and reviewed the incident and now agrees that baker did not hear the whistle and was unfairly treated. Boothroyd has already said that Baker's yellow card at Swansea in midweek was "a ridiculous decision". He reached a similar conclusion with the yellow card striker Clive Platt was given for his 'challenge' on Swans 'keeper Dorus de Vries. “The ball was there to be won,”said Boothroyd, “and if he hadn’t gone for it I’d have been asking him why not, but the keeper made a big thing about Becchio when they played Leeds and he made a big thing about Clive." “They’ve got Scunthorpe next, so it will be Chris Dagnall’s turn. The referee might have said, ‘get up you tart, get on with it’ but he didn’t. Referees have to be very strong. It’s important to have the bottle to ensure you’re not swayed by the crowd." "That’s what happened with Carl at Millwall. He didn’t hear the whistle, but he’d been warned before and that was in the referee’s mind. We’d just got back into the game and Millwall’s fans had been getting quiet, but that created a little fracas that woke them up." “The idea is to quieten the crowd, get them to turn on their own side rather than us. Part of Carl coming here, stepping up, is that he’s got to learn to control his emotions but we’ve had a chat about it and we’re fine, we move on.” Baker, who joined Coventry City last year, insisted, “I didn’t even see the foul, let alone hear the whistle, so it was very frustrating to get sent off for something like that, particularly because it was 1-1 at the time and we had the momentum." “I didn’t think the referee at Swansea was the best to be honest. I don’t know whether he thought my touch was too big but their lad definitely caught me, but you can’t rely on referees to give you decisions. You’ve just got to get on with it and do things for yourself.” Baker certainly tried hard at Swansea, but he thought, “We probably showed them too much respect, but at half-time the gaffer told us what he wanted and that made a big difference." “We realised we were as good as them if not better and that we could press them, get the ball higher up the pitch and then keep possession ourselves. We did that and it made all the difference, so hopefully we can start off at Bristol the way we finished at Swansea and get in their faces right away." “Things aren’t going perfect there and they’re coming off a poor result themselves, so if we can nick an early goal the crowd might get on their backs.” Baker he admits he prefers playing in a 4-4-2 system,“When you’ve got two men up top they can hold the ball up better which makes it easier for the midfield to get their foot on the ball in the final third," he said, but the gaffer knows what he’s doing and some times you have to change things up to deal with other formations you come up against.” Asked about the ‘impact player’ tag he has been given, he said, “I suppose it’s a compliment that people think you can go on and change things, but coming off the bench can mean it takes you longer to get into the game." “We’ve got a really good squad here, with a lot of competition for places, but, like every player, I want to be on the pitch from the start every game. I’m a confidence player. I know my own ability, know what I can do, but sometimes you have to wait for your chance." "When you get it, it’s up to you to play your own game and make sure you stay there.”
