Carlton Palmer | Ex-England man ready for next non-league challenge

Former England international Carlton Palmer believes he is ready for his next challenge in management and is confident about bouncing back despite a disappointing ending with Grantham Town.

Credit: Carlton Palmer (https://www.carltonpalmer.com/)

By Amos Murphy

Grantham exit a disappointing end to promising project

Having been appointed in April, Carlton Palmer left his role as Grantham Town manager in November, with the club bottom of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Whilst the details of his resignation remain unclear, Palmer left the club alongside former chairman Darren Ashton, after new investors were set to take over.

After taking some time to reflect on the experience, Palmer is now ready to move on from the situation, whilst looking forward to what comes next in his managerial career:

“It’s fair to say I wasn’t happy with certain people at Grantham Town, with the way they treated me and the chairman. I was left in a position where I had to resign.

“I’ve never been a coach I’m not a number two. I’m my own man. If the right opportunity comes along and the right people to work with are there, I’m ready to go again”.

Learning from mistakes in cutthroat non-league pyramid

As a former England international, there are few people involved in the game with more experience than Palmer, yet he admitted there were aspects of non-league football that took him by surprise:

“I made mistakes at Grantham. I started my career in non-league, but I didn’t realise just how strong the Northern Premier League was.

“In non-league preseason is vital. When the campaign starts, you’re playing Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday and there’s no time to train with the players”.

Alongside the hectic schedule of Step 3 football, Palmer also confessed he underestimated the finances involved in the division:

“I didn’t realise just how big salaries were in this league. My aim was to have players who wanted to play for Grantham Town for the love of the club, not because we were paying the most money.

“I know of a club at the top of the division who are paying £2,000 a week for a player. It’s not sustainable.

“Had I stayed at Grantham Town, they’d have stayed up in the division. I still stand by that”.

Carlton has experience in the Palm-er of his hands

With over 590 appearances as a player, Palmer’s career stretched across some of the biggest names in English football, including West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday.

His first foray into management came as a player-manager with Stockport County in 2001, before taking up the reigns as Mansfield Town boss for a four-year spell in 2004.

Palmer told Non League Daily that he was surprised by how much he enjoyed returning to the dugout and will enter his next job with clear objectives in mind:

“I do miss the football and the Saturdays. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would do.

“Now I know what is required to do well in Step 3, I want to stay as high a level as possible. But if an opportunity came up at a lower level, so be it.

“For me it is about fun and enjoyment… I don’t need to work from a financial point of view. When a manager is under pressure to get results all the time, young players don’t get a chance

Give youth a chance, insists Palmer

When quizzed on the non-negotiables for his next managerial role, there was one key factor that would influence his decision to take a job:

“My thing is working and developing the young players. If a job came along where I couldn’t do that, absolutely no way I would take it.

“Too many managers don’t give kids a chance and I understand why, because they’re not in work long enough to do so".

During Palmer’s illustrious playing career there were a number of managers that handed him breakthrough opportunities, not least the then England boss Graham Taylor, who oversaw all 18 of his international caps.

For Palmer, being able to be the man to give players their opportunities himself is the legacy he hopes to achieve in management:

“I gave three boys their debuts and I brought in young players. What’s the point in having an academy if you’re not bringing them through.

“I’ll wait patiently and hopefully someone will give me a call. It’s been nice hearing the feedback from other players and managers, and I know exactly what I can bring to a football club”.

It remains to be seen where Palmer takes to the dugout next, yet his knowledge of the game and application of methods will no doubt see him succeed in non-league.