Refereeing has helped MK Dons promotion winner find a new purpose in life

Not many players would swap their playing boots for a referee’s whistle, but that is exactly what ex-MK Dons promotion winner Carl Baker needed after retiring from the game.

The 42-year-old had a lengthy playing career, racking up in excess of 650 games before calling it quits in 2023 while playing for non-league side Quorn. During his playing days, he ran out for the likes of Morecambe, Stockport, Coventry City and Portsmouth, while also amassing 72 appearances at Stadium MK in two seasons with Dons, helping them to promotion to the Championship in 2014/15.

The regimented lifestyle of being a footballer though was something Baker relied on, and after hanging up his boots, he admitted he struggled greatly with out the schedule and discipline.

Opening up about his struggles after retiring from playing, Baker admitted: “After doing something for so long, it was getting difficult to keep up with the things it takes to be a professional footballer, so I called it a day.

“At first, I thought it was going to be great to have all that time off. It was great for two or three months, but I didn’t feel like I had a purpose. It then became the toughest 12 months of my life, to be honest.

“If you speak to my Mrs, she’d tell you I was probably going through some form of depression, and I’ve always denied it. Some mornings, I’d wake up at 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, 12 o’clock. I wasn’t having a shave because I had no reason to, I didn’t want to answer the phone, and it would even take me days to respond to my own mum.

“I was finding myself shouting at my kids for no reason, arguing with my Mrs for no reason. That wasn’t me, I was never like that for 20-odd years.

“I had no purpose. I was always told where to be, when, eating what, in what kit. To go from that to nothing was hard. But I was waiting for an opportunity to come along.”

While there were excursions along the way, including being caddy for Robert Rock at the US Open in 2024, it was an email from the PFA and the Professional Match Game Officials (PGMO) which helped give him a new focus.

Introducing a new scheme to encourage former players into becoming referees and match officials, Baker is en route to a return to the game again, this time with a whistle and a flag.

“We’re almost a year into it now, and my life has completely changed. I’m waking up with a smile on my face again, I’ve got places to go, games to do, videos to review, I’ve got a kit to put on to match the other lads - and that matches what I’ve done in my last life. There are a lot of similarities, a lot of transferable skills from being a player to a referee.

“The feedback I’ve had from managers, players and coaches has been fantastic. This program has given me a new lease of life, and now I have a purpose which is what I needed. It’s great to wake up with targets to aim for, and it’s motivating me and driving me forwards.”