AHEAD of our first competitive game of the 2021-22 season, we feel it would be remiss not to mention the retirement of one of our players, and a very special one at that – Mr. Christopher Palmer!
Yes ladies & gentlemen, the summer of 2021 will never be forgotten for many reasons – the end of Lockdown; the Harry & Meghan soap opera; England’s run to the final of the Euros; Billionaires going to space……. but most of all….because sadly, one of the TRUE Legends of Trafford FC has called it a day at the age of 34. All good things come to an end, and so Chris Palmer’s Trafford playing career finishes after 9 years, 12 goals, and 283 competitive games for the club – making him Trafford’s 4th highest appearance maker.
Chris Palmer made the switch from Irlam Town to arrive at Shawe View in the close season of 2012. He made his competitive debut on 18th August 2012 away at Ossett Albion in NPL1 North. Chris wore the Number 8 shirt that day, and Trafford won 8-0; Clearly good karma for the years to come…..
Having missed a few weeks in the autumn of 2012 due to injury, Chris returned to the side in the November and was pretty much there for the rest of the season. He scored his first goal for Trafford away at New Mills on 5th January 2013 in a 2-1 league victory. Trafford of course gloriously won promotion that season via the Play-offs, with Chris wearing the No.7 shirt in the semi-final victory (also at New Mills). He was an un-used sub in the Play-off final at Cammell Laird, where after 120 minutes had produced no goals, Trafford FC won promotion to the NPL Premier Division with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory.
During pre-season for the 2013-14 campaign, Chris broke his arm in a 5-1 friendly win away at Sandbach. Miraculously he was back in the squad by mid-September, and this season he proved beyond doubt what a fantastic player and clubman he was – playing in all positions across the midfield and often dropping in at full back when required to do a job for the Team. Chris wore No.10 in the Trafford side that won the 2014 Manchester FA Premier Cup Final, beating Hyde Utd 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
2014-15 was a tough season as Trafford struggled during their 2nd year in the NPL Premier Division. The club was ultimately relegated, but it wasn’t for lack of effort and commitment – and certainly not on Chris Palmer’s part. He played in 47 of Trafford’s 53 League and Cup games that campaign. Of the six games he did not play in, he was an un-used sub for four of them. Truly Mr. Reliable.
At this point, we’ll hand over to former Boss Garry Vaughan – the man who signed Chris Palmer for Trafford FC in 2012, and worked with him for two-&-half seasons:
“Chris Palmer is a great player and a great servant to the club. Versatile, always 100% in training and games. Young players should watch him and learn how to carry themselves. Chris is a great role model, and I wish him all the very best in whatever he does next. Luv GV x”
From 2015 to 2020 Trafford were managed by former Halifax and Chorley Captain Tom Baker. During these five seasons, Chris Palmer continued to be an integral part of the TFC team, playing 161 times under Baker’s tutelage, again often in positions other than his favoured centre-midfield (although that was where he played most) This despite missing the first half of 2016-17 with a particularly nasty leg muscle injury. Baker says of Palmer: “Loyalty and reliability sometimes can be hard to come by in the modern-day game, but these are two of many attributes that Chris Palmer had. Palms was with me from day one right to the end. A fantastic man and a fantastic player, massively underrated in my opinion. A clever footballer – something he maybe at times didn’t get credit for. A manager’s dream and someone who had my upmost trust and respect. Many players came and went in my time at Trafford FC, but Chris was one who was always by my side. A pleasure to manage, sometimes grumpy and miserable? but a credit to himself and his family!”
Baker’s admiration & respect led to him making Chris Palmer, in season 2017-18, Trafford FC’s Club Captain – possibly his proudest moment at Shawe View (although the ever-humble Palmer would probably say he was just doing the job he’d been asked to do!) Whilst Skipper that season, Trafford reached the Play-Off semi-final AND the Manchester Premier Cup Final, losing to Prescott Cables and FC United respectively.
After two near-misses, a trophy finally came home for Baker, Palmer and the Trafford squad in the Northern Premier League’s Integro Cup Final, with a 2-1 win over Farsley Celtic on a barmy night in April 2019. Palms came on as a sub to help shore-up the Trafford defence as Farsley threw the kitchen sink in search of an equaliser, but the lads held firm and lifted the trophy! By this stage of his career, Chris was 32 and whilst he was one of the senior members of the team, he remained a vital cog in the Trafford machine.
Having made at this point 243 appearances for Trafford, putting him 7th in the all-time list, and being 68 games away from equalling Lee Southwood’s record of 311, you’d’ve put your money on Mr. Consistency, Mr. Reliable, Mr. Quiet-determination, Mr Fitness Tee-total, easily reaching that landmark in the next two seasons. However, Mr. Covid-19 had other ideas…….
Although 75% of the 2019-20 season had been played, what was left was abandoned due to Lockdown, thus robbing the club of potentially another trophy having again reached the Manchester Premier Cup Final. Palmer had made 32 appearances, so no problem – only 36 behind the record. As 2020-21 began, we supporters began looking forward to a MASSIVE celebration when Chris would surely reach that magic 312…… only for another season to be abandoned, this time with only 10 games played.
And so, as 2021-22 begins, Chris Palmer decides to call it a day on 283, just 28 short, but it speaks volumes for the man that he wouldn’t carry on playing just so he could beat the record. We would have LOVED him to – Even the record holder Lee Southwood said “Records are there to be broken and good luck to Chris if he does it……” Chris Palmer would’ve deserved that honour, but alas it was not to be. He has a young family and the time & commitment to training & games 3 or 4 times a week is immense – you can’t give less than 100% and Chris Palmer knows that. It’s all or nothing in football. You can’t do it for ever, and eventually your family comes first.nSo as fans of Trafford FC we say farewell (but not goodbye!) to someone who is truly “one of our own” Chris Palmer – a local lad playing for his local club. A bloody marvellous footballer, a 100% reliable, talented, trustworthy bloke, and as Wayne Goodison (Vaughany’s Assistant Manager) recently tweeted: “A really sound individual”. The Tea ladies’ favourite…. was there anyone who didn’t love him?! As the song goes “oh Chrissy Palmer you’re such a lovely guy….” and a bona-fide Trafford FC LEGEND. When we get a new clubhouse, we should have a TFC Hall of Fame and put Chris Palmer in it. We’ll leave the final words to current Trafford Boss Danny Caldecott:
“It was always Chris’s intention to retire soon, and we had a discussion about this before the pandemic turned our lives upside down. I am truly gutted he couldn’t fulfil his last season with us, as I feel we have been robbed of the proper goodbye and send-off he deserves. Since I have been at the club, Chris has been exemplary in all his application on and off the pitch. He is what I believe to be an unsung hero for our football club. We all know how good and dependable he his, but sometimes I do not think he gets the recognition he deserved. He is a brilliant football player and whenever you needed him to play out of his preferred position, he often gave you a top performance. Chris is an honest man. He is always open to talk about new tactics, and was the perfect character for me to go to when I had an opinion on a certain idea or scenario within our squad. I actually spoke with Chris about what his thoughts were in regards to staying on at the club in some other capacities, but he wanted to spend more time with his family and I fully respect his decision. From the bottom of my heart Chris, I want to thank you for all your help since I was appointed manager. You supported and guided me in some moments which is something I’ll never forget. You were an excellent player for me and this club, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we are going to miss your presence on and off the pitch at Trafford. Thank you for everything mate and always giving us your all. A true gentleman and a legend of this football club. Good luck to you and your family. Hope to catch you soon at a game.”
We couldn’t have written it better! All that remains is to say to Chris himself, if you are reading this (!) let’s have you back at Shawe View soon for a home game, with all your family, and we can give you a proper send-off. We know you’d like to quietly retire, but we ain’t gonna let ya!
(The full version of this article, including several photos, is in the current Trafford Newsletter available by emailing Dave Murray on davem@traffordfc.co.uk or visit the press box on a match day.
