Liam Palmer


Liam Jordan Palmer is a professional footballer who plays for Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. Born in England, Palmer represents Scotland at international level; he played for the under-19s and under-21s and made his senior debut in March 2019.

Club career

Sheffield Wednesday

Born in Worksop, England, Palmer began his career with Sheffield Wednesday when he was seven years old. Having progressed through the academy, Palmer appeared three times as an unused substitute throughout the 2009–10 season. Following this, he signed his first-year professional contract and expected to make a first team breakthrough ahead of the 2010–11 season. Palmer was also awarded the club’s Academy Player of the Year.
Palmer made his debut for Wednesday on 10 August 2010 in the Football League Cup first round clash with Bury, which ended in a 1–0 win at Hillsborough, being replaced in the second half by James O'Connor. On 6 January 2011, he signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2013. After making some appearances from the bench, Palmer made his first start for the Owls on 22 February 2011, against Bournemouth in a 0-0 draw. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he went on to make eleven appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Palmer appeared in the first three matches of the season, including one against Blackpool in the first round of the League Cup, which he successfully converted a penalty shootout, eventually winning 4–2 following a 0–0 draw. He then scored his first senior goal in the Owls' 3-1 home league win over Milton Keynes Dons on 10 September 2011. Palmer then set up a goal for Chris O'Grady, who scored twice, in a 3–1 win against Scunthorpe United on 24 January 2012. However, Palmer found his first team opportunities limited and spent most of the 2011–12 season, either on the substitute bench and out of the squad. He would make fourteen league appearances in the Owls' promotion back to the Championship during the 2011–2012 season.
It was confirmed on 16 July 2012 that Palmer had joined League One club Tranmere Rovers on loan for start of 2012–13 football league season for a total of six-months until the January transfer window. He made his debut for the club, starting the match and played 112 minutes before being substituted, as the club won 2–1 against Chesterfield in the first round of the League Cup after playing in extra time. Since making his debut for Tranmere Rovers, Palmer quickly established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position. In a match against Shrewsbury Town on 25 August 2012, he played a role, setting up an equalising goal, as the club drew 1–1. Palmer then set up the only goal of the game, winning 1–0 against Bury on 1 January 2013. Shortly after, he signed a contract extension with his parent club, keeping him until 2015 and around the same time signed a loan extension with Tranmere Rovers until the end of the 2012–13 season. Since making his debut for the club, Palmer started in every matches until he was sent–off in the 6th minutes for a challenge on Joe Jacobson, as Tranmere Rovers lost 2–0 against Shrewsbury Town on 15 February 2012 and served a three match suspension. After serving a three match suspension, he returned to the first team against Yeovil Town on 2 March 2013, coming on as a 64th minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss. Since returning from suspension, Palmer regained his first team place for the rest of the 2012–13 season. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make forty–six appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Palmer returned to his parent club and was given a number twenty–two shirt. He also stated that his aim to make a first team breakthrough at Sheffield Wednesday following an impressive loan spell at Tranmere Rovers last season. Palmer made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game in the right–back position, in a 2–1 loss against Queens Park Rangers in the opening game of the season. After the match, he said: "Reserve team football can be very useful but going out on loan means you can get first team games under your belt. Obviously from my experience, that’s the best thing to do and I would advise any young player to do the same because it stands you in good stead. At first I was a bit sceptical of going out on loan and it can be daunting but you’ve just got to roll with the punches. That’s what I did and it has paid off so far." Since returning to the first team, Palmer established himself in the first team, where he rotated in playing either right–back, defensive midfield and centre–midfield positions. While playing in the right–back position, Palmer kept two consecutive clean sheets on three separate occasions throughout the 2013–14 season. His performance was praised by Manager Stuart Gray, due to his team effort and great energy. On 26 March 2014, Palmer signed a new four-year contract with the Owls. He then set up two goals in two matches between 29 March 2014 and 4 April 2014 against Watford and Leicester City. For his performance, Palmer was named the club’s Player of the Month for March. Later in the 2013–2014 season, Palmer was named as Sheffield Wednesday's Player Of The Season, as well as, Wise Old Owls Award. However, he suffered a groin injury that kept him out for the rest of the season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Palmer went on to make forty–four appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Palmer returned from injury, coming on as a second half substitute, in a 2–1 win against York City in the pre–season friendly on 12 July 2014. It was announced on 31 July 2014 that his number shirt was changed to eight for the new season. He started the season well for Sheffield Wednesday, keeping two clean sheets in the first three matches of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion, Notts County and Derby County, Palmer then helped the club kept three consecutive clean sheets between 13 September 2014 and 20 September 2014 against Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Reading. His contribution and role in six clean sheets from nine games this season" was praised by Manager Stuart Gray.Since the start of the 2014–15 season, Palmer continued to regain his first team, playing in the right–back position. At times, he did play in the centre–midfield position along the way. Palmer then made his 100th appearance for Sheffield Wednesday, as the club lost 4–0 against Fulham on 20 December 2014. This was followed up by helping the club keep three consecutive clean sheets in the league between 26 December 2014 and 10 January 2015 against Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and Nottingham Forest. However during a 1–1 draw against Fulham on 14 March 2015, Palmer suffered ankle injury and was substituted in the 29th minutes, resulting in him sidelined for the rest of the 2014–15 season. At the end of the 2014–15 season, he made thirty–six appearances in all competitions
Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Palmer made a recovery from ankle injury and made a return in a friendly match against Alfreton Town on 11 July 2015 and played 45 minutes, drawing 1–1. He also switched number shirt to two. At the start of the 2015–16 season, Palmer found himself competing with Jack Hunt over the right–back position, which saw him placed on the substitute bench. As a result, Palmer made a number of first team starts in absent of Hunt, as well as, Carlos Carvalhal’s tactics. Despite this, he contributed the club’s opening goal of the game, in a 1–1 draw against Leeds United on 22 August 2015. As the 2015–16 season progressed, Palmer continued to feature in and out of the first team. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he went on to make nineteen appearances in all competitions. During the 2015–16 season, Palmer was awarded top community by the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme.
Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Palmer switched number shirt to sixteen. However, he continued to compete with Hunt over the right–back position, which saw him placed on the substitute bench once again. As a result, Palmer made a number of first team starts in absent of Hunt, as well as, Carvalhal’s tactics. At one point during the season, Palmer played in the left–back position, coming against Burton Albion on 16 August 2016. It was announced on 26 October 2016 that he signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2019. Palmer then helped Sheffield Wednesday’s defence by keeping three consecutive clean sheets between 13 December 2016 and 26 December 2016 against Barnsley, Rotherham United and Newcastle United. A month later on 14 January 2017, he made his 150th appearances for the club, in a 2–0 win against Huddersfield Town. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Palmer made twenty–three appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2017–18 season, Palmer continued to compete with Hunt over the right–back position, which saw him placed on the substitute bench once again. As a result, Palmer made a number of first team starts in absent of Hunt, as well as, Carvalhal’s tactics until his sacking in December. At the start of January, he began rotating in playing in either the right–back and right–midfield positions,. But Palmer soon lost his first team place once again under the management of Jos Luhukay. Despite this, he later contributed two assists, coming against Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers. Despite suffering injuries towards the end of the 2017–18 season, Palmer went on to make thirty appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2018–19 season, Palmer reverted his number shirt back to number two. At the start of the 2018–19 season, he played in the right–midfield position and started the whole game, in a 3–2 loss against Wigan Athletic in the opening game of the season. After missing two matches, Palmer returned to the starting line–up in the right–back position, in a 2–1 win against Millwall on 22 August 2018. He continued to regain his place in the right–back position for the next three matches before dropped out of the starting line–up once again. Since returning to the first team, Palmer found himself in and out of the starting line–up, due to strong competitions and tactical reason for the next two months. He then kept two consecutive clean sheets between 22 December 2018 and 26 December 2018 against Preston North End and Middlesbrough. During a match against Middlesbrough on 26 December 2018, Palmer made his 200th appearances for Sheffield Wednesday. He then kept four consecutive clean sheets between 19 January 2019 and 12 February 2019. Palmer regained his first team place and played in the right–back position for the next three months. Having previously played in the right–midfield position on two occasions during the 2018–19 season, Palmer began playing in the left–back position by new Manager Steve Bruce. His performance led to believe could convince the club to offer him a new contract and that he wanted to stay at Sheffield Wedneday. Palmer, once again, kept consecutive clean sheets between 26 February 2019 and 4 March 2019 against Brentford and Sheffield United. Later in the 2018–19 season, Palmer continued to rotate in playing in either the right–back and left–back positions. Despite missing one more match later in the 2018–19 season, he went on to make thirty–nine appearances in all competitions. Following this, Palmer was offered a new contract by the club.
It was announced on 12 July 2019 that Palmer signed a new three-year contract with Sheffield Wednesday. Palmer started the season well when he set up the club’s first goal of the game, in a 3–1 win against Reading in the opening game of the season. Palmer then started in the next two matches before suffering a back injury that saw him missed two matches. He returned to the starting line–up and played 75 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–1 loss against Queens Park Rangers on 31 August 2019. Palmer then kept two consecutive clean sheet between 22 October 2019 and 26 October 2019 against Stoke City and Leeds United. Since returning from injury, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in either the right–back position and left–back position, for the next two months.This last until Palmer was sent–off at the last minute of the game, losing 2–1 against West Bromwich Albion on 23 November 2019. Following this, he served a three match suspension. It wasn’t until on 14 December 2019 when he returned to the starting line–up against Nottingham Forest and kept a clean sheet, in a 4–0 win. This was followed by keeping another clean sheet, in a 1–0 win against Bristol City. However during a 2–1 loss against Cardiff City on 29 December 2019, Palmer suffered ankle injury following a challenge from Junior Hoilett and was out for a month. After being sidelined for a month, he returned to the starting line–up against Millwall on 1 February 2020 and kept a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw. Palmer then captained Sheffield Wednesday for the first time in his career, as they lost 3–0 against Reading on 15 February 2020. A week later on 26 February 2020 against Charlton Athletic, he made his 250th appearance for the club, as they won 1–0. Palmer then made his 300th career appearances on 29 June 2020, winning 2–1 loss against Bristol City. Despite suffering another injury later in the 2019–20 season, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in either the left–back, right–back and centre–back positions. Despite the 2019–20 season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Palmer went on to make thirty–four appearances in all competitions.

International career

Palmer is eligible to play for England through his birthplace, Scotland through his Carluke-born grandmother and Jamaica.
Palmer represented Scotland at the under-19, where he made four appearances for the U19 side. Later in the year, Palmer represented Scotland at theunder-21 and made his debut for the U21 side, in a 3–1 win against Northern Ireland national under-21 football team|Northern Ireland] U21 on 17 November 2010. He went on to make eight appearances for Scotland U21 for the next two years.
Palmer represents Scotland after being selected for the full Scotland squad for the first time in March 2019, and made his senior debut for Scotland, playing the whole match of the 3–0 away defeat to Kazakhstan in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

Career statistics

International

Personal Life

mentioned in an article that Palmer is a son of former footballer and manager Carlton Palmer, who, himself, played for Sheffield Wednesday. In response, Palmer revealed that he’s not son of Carlton Palmer and that his father name is Terry Palmer and worked as a painter and decorator.
Palmer grew up supporting Sheffield Wednesday, a team that started his professional football career. He also grew up idolising Steven Gerrard. Palmer spoke his fondness to Show Racism the Red Card, saying: "I think Show Racism the Red Card are doing an excellent job in raising awareness and educating children about racism, which is not just a problem in football, but in schools and everyday life." Palamer continued to do throughout his career, even as revealing that he, himself, was a victim of racial abuse.
Palmer also set up his own football academy called Palmer School of Excellence, based in Worksop. The aim is to boys and girls of all ages and abilities the opportunity to play football and develop their social skills.

Honours

Sheffield Wednesday
Individual