Alex Palmer makes Aston Villa demand as play-off bound West Brom ‘written off’
Five years after finally establishing himself as the team’s top player, Alex Palmer watched from the top of the stands as his West Bromwich Albion teammates lost to Aston Villa in the 2019 Championship play-off semi-finals at The Hawthorns. Now, with the support of the raucous home crowd, he hopes to go at least one better.
Villa defeated a severely depleted Albion team on penalties; they went on to defeat Derby County in the Wembley final and never looked back. Although the Baggies’ quest for promotion was only one season longer, they went on to experience their longest stint in the second division in over 20 years. They are the underdogs under Carlos Corberan, but they have had a strong campaign and are more than capable of winning.
Palmer, who has had to wait longer than most for his chance in the first team after being given an extended opportunity in the starting XI briefly prior to Corberan’s appointment in October 2022, hopes to experience a similarly generated atmosphere from The Hawthorns on Sunday, October 1, at home. This time, though, he’ll be right in the middle of the action.
I was watching the Villa game when we were last in the play-offs at home, and I thought it was one of the best crowds I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “I was ranked third, behind [Jonathan] Bondy and Sam [Johnstone].” It was amazing to view from the gantry, as I recall.
“I’m excited to potentially be able to perform in that environment. I hope the fans can pull that off. Even if we’ve had a challenging season off the field, the supporters have always been amazing, especially when we’re on the road.”
Palmer, who kept 18 clean sheets this season and won the Championship’s golden glove award, is 27 years old but has only played a regular role in the Albion squad for the past 18 months. His wait for a chance at the play-offs and, should Albion upset the Saints against all odds, a trip to Wembley at the end of the month has not been too long.
“To have that opportunity (to play in these games), that’s why I’ve said before, you’ve got to take it in, you can’t let it pass you by, you’ve got to enjoy it,” he stated. “The club and team are obviously under a great deal of pressure to perform well and compete, but you have to accept and appreciate it on an individual basis as well. It’s not something that happens frequently in your career, and neither is what we’re trying to accomplish frequently. My goal is to have the most fun possible while it.”
Albion are the least fancied side of the four play-off teams – along with Southampton, Leeds United and even Norwich City, who finished beneath them in the table – with the bookmakers, but that doesn’t deter Palmer and the Albion squad won’t waver.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” he added. “I had a question or made a statement earlier in the season and said people were writing us off, and that was before we were really in the play-off places.
“To now sit here…we just go about our business. Whether it’s under the radar or people have got different odds against us, then so be it, we’re fully-focused on ourselves and putting in the strongest performance on Sunday.”
Leave a Reply