Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on Sam and George Baldock.
Families in Football: MK Dons Academy Graduates Sam and George Baldock
Sam Baldock
Striker Sam Baldock began life in Wimbledon’s youth setup but moved to the Milton Keynes academy when the club relocated.
He made his first-team debut in December 2005 but made just 12 appearances in the first three seasons. Sam became a regular under Roberto Di Matteo with the club now in League One. The striker scored 13 goals from 44 appearances in all competitions.
The striker netted his first-ever hat trick in a 3-1 win over Colchester United and also scored in the League One play-off semi-final first-leg win over Peterborough United, but the Dons would lose over the two legs.
The Posh then tabled a £1.2 million bid for Baldock but he decided to stay with the club. However, after netting six from six, he joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee.
Baldock spent one season in the Championship with the Hammers before joining Bristol City, where he scored 36 goals in 92 outings.
From there, the striker joined Brighton & Hove Albion and helped the Seagulls secure promotion to the Premier League. He made two top-flight appearances before joining Reading in the second tier. The forward spent three seasons at the Madejski before signing for Derby County.
During his time at MK, he won the Football League Trophy and League Two in the 2007/08 season before securing promotion to the top-flight with West Ham and Brighton.
George Baldock
Younger brother George also came through the youth setup at MK Dons but spent much of his time out on loan.
The right-back enjoyed short spells at Northampton Town and Tamworth before spending time in Iceland with ÍBV. He returned to Tamworth and scored three times in 19 appearances.
George Baldock returned to MK and was part of the Dons side that won 4-0 against Manchester United. Despite making 14 appearances for his parent club, he was loaned out to Oxford United for the remainder of the 2014/15 season.
The defender returned to Oxford on a season-long loan ahead of the 2015/16 season. The right-back became a key member of Michael Appleton’s team, racking up 35 appearances before he was recalled by his parent club.
Despite suffering relegation from the Championship, Baldock was named MK Dons’ Young Player of the Year and was also part of the League Two Team of the Year due to his impressive displays with the U’s.
Baldock would spend one more season at MK, scoring on his 100th appearance, before moving back into the Championship with Sheffield United in 2017. The defender is still at Bramall Lane and was part of the Blades team that won promotion to the Premier League.
Games Played Together and Against
The brothers only played one match together on the same side. It came in a 2-1 away win over Oldham Athletic on the final day of the 2010/11 season at MK Dons.
The pair have faced off against each other on six occasions. When Sam was at Bristol City, both league matches against MK Dons ended 2-2 with the striker scoring all four goals against his former club. He was also on the winning side when Brighton visited the Stadium:MK.
However, George has won all three meetings during his time with Sheffield United against Reading and Derby respectively.
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