George Baldock’s personality was infectious and a dream to have in the dressing room, writes former Sheffield United team-mate TOMMY DOYLE – his loss is hard to put into words

It’s easy to be a good player when you play nice football and win, but as professionals we judge people when it’s difficult. George Baldock, whose death has left us all devastated, was a man who stood up when times were tough.

That’s what sticks with me about George. He would be one of the first people I would take with me if I went to war. That says something about him and his character.

I can speak for Macca [James McAtee] also about this. We loved him when we went on loan to Sheffield United in 2022. He helped us enormously. Amazing.

He’s the kind of person you dream of being in the locker room to help you. With me and Macca he saw two young boys who were committed to helping 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 executive.

George worked at Bramall Lane for seven years. It’s been a long time to have been to a club and now with the heartfelt tribute you can see what the people who have been there around him think of him. You can see the messages of how loved he was. He was adored by so many people just for the way he was. It will be a huge miss for us.

A heartbroken Sheffield United paid tribute to their former player on social media on Thursday

Tommy Doyle, right, played with Baldock in Sheffield United’s 2022-2023 promotion season

Doyle believes the Blades would not have automatically risen without Baldock’s attitude

That year I spent with him, I honestly believe that without George we wouldn’t have automatically gone to the Premier League.

He was a big part of it, the way he was there. That’s who he was: such an infectious man to everyone.

The biggest part of that is attitude. Like I said before, when the going gets tough. We had a few periods where we didn’t get the best results. He was very calm, told us all to listen and that it was still early, and told us to relax. It worked wonderfully.

But even as he said that, he would tighten standards on the training ground. There wouldn’t be a day when he wouldn’t give 100 percent. I admire people who are like that and I take that with me every day. He was one of those people who dragged others along with everything he did.

This incredible character in the locker room, someone with so much dedication, passion and desire for the game, wants his team to succeed.

Baldock’s love for the club was reflected in his celebrations after reaching Wembley in the FA Cup

The heartfelt tribute shows how much Baldock was loved after seven years at Sheffield United

I think back to some of the 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 loved the club. They are precious memories.

An incredible personality. He knew when to be serious, knew when to laugh and just read the room very well. He is someone who has helped so many guys progress and feel comfortable. And boy was he good: I’ve played with some top fullbacks, but he’s up there.

There have been conversations with a number of guys in the last 24 hours, but it’s hard to put into words. He was so young. He recently became a father and husband. My heart breaks for his family. We guys aren’t feeling great right now, but I can’t imagine what his family and wife are going through. George, we will miss you.