It’s easy to be a good player when you’re playing nice football and winning but as professionals, we judge people when it’s tough. George Baldock, whose passing we are all devastated by, was a man who stood up when it was tough.
That is what sticks in my mind with George. He’d be one of the first people I’d bring with me if I was going to war. That says something about him and his character.
I can speak for Macca [James McAtee] as well on this. We loved him when the pair of us went on loan to Sheffield United in 2022. He helped us so much. Amazing.
He is the kind of person you dream of being there in the dressing room to help you. With me and Macca, he saw two young lads who were committed to help the team and knew exactly how to get the best out of us. He made you feel really good about yourself. That’s what you need as a footballer. A top guy.
George was at Bramall Lane for seven years. It’s a long time to be at a club and you can see now with the heartfelt tributes what the people who have been around him there think of him. You can see the messages of how loved he was. He was adored by so many people, just for how he was. It will be a massive miss to us.
Tommy Doyle, right, played with Baldock in Sheffield United's promotion season in 2022-23
That year I spent with him, I genuinely believe that without George we wouldn’t have gone up automatically to the Premier League.
He was a massive part of it, with how he was around the place. That’s who he was: such an infectious man for everybody.
The biggest part of that is attitude. As I said before, when it gets tough. We had a few spells where we didn’t pick up the best results. He was very calm, told us all to listen and that it was just early days, telling us to relax. It worked a treat.
But while saying that, he’d drive the standards on the training ground. There wouldn’t be a day when he wouldn’t give 100 per cent. I admire people who are like that and I take that with me every single day. He was one of those people who swept others along with everything that he did.
This unbelievable character around the dressing room, someone who had so much commitment, passion and desire for the game, drive for his team to succeed.
I think back to a couple of goals I scored - Sunderland at the Stadium of Light and against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter-final, which took us to Wembley. You could just see how much that meant to him because he adored the club. They are cherished memories.
An unbelievable personality. He knew when to be serious, knew when to have a laugh and just read the room really well. He’s someone who helped so many lads progress and feel comfortable. And boy he was good: I’ve played with some top full backs but he is right up there.
There have been conversations with some of the lads over the past 24 hours but it’s hard to put into words. He was so young. He recently became a father and a husband. My heart breaks for his family. Us lads don’t feel the best at this moment in time but I can’t imagine what his family and wife are going through. George, we’ll miss you.