Fulham hero Bobby Zamora has heaped praise on former teammate Chris Baird for his passing ability.
Not to make any of our readers feel old, but we are fast approaching 14 years since Fulham’s incredible Europa League run.
Roy Hodgson guided Fulham all the way from the third qualifying round to the final in one of the finest seasons many fans will experience.
Vetra, Amkar Perm, CSKA Sofia, Basel, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg all stood in Fulham’s way but couldn’t stop the run to the final.
It wasn’t to be for Fulham in that final as Atletico Madrid took home the trophy in a 2-1 victory in Hamburg.
That Fulham side will live long in the memory though and Bobby Zamora has now praised one of his old teammates from that team…
Bobby Zamora hails Chris Baird
Zamora has been speaking on the Fulham Fix Podcast and drew attention to former defender Chris Baird.
Baird joined Fulham from Southampton way back in 2007 and went on to become a solid and dependable first-team player.
The Northern Irishman turned out more than 150 times for Fulham before moving on to Reading in 2013.
A versatile defender, Baird was underrated and flew under the radar whilst others took the plaudits.
Zamora has now praised Baird for his passing ability, suggesting that he could pick him out wherever he wanted the ball.
Zamora noted that Baird made his life easy in the Fulham attack, pinging balls from back to front with great accuracy.
The former Fulham hitman added that Baird would do a job no matter where he was deployed – defence, midfield, it didn’t matter.
Zamora praised Baird for being a solid performer in a Fulham shirt having seemingly loved playing alongside him at Craven Cottage.
“Bairdy, that guy could find me,” said Zamora. “If I want it on that button there, ‘yeah yeah, no worries mate’, 60 yards, right there. Made my life so easy.”
“He’d jump in at right back, centre half, centre midfield, right midfield, anywhere it is that you want him, he can play and do a job as well,” he added.
Baird even ended up coming back to Fulham in 2016, returning for another stint to help the club avoid relegation from the Championship.
Fulham fans will surely share Zamora’s love for Baird having seen him play such a fine role during his time in West London.