At 3-1 down with 11 minutes to go, Alex Palmer is finally still and silent. He’s standing outside his area, hands on hips next to the unfortunate Luke Woolfenden, who’s just deflected Tottenham’s third. Perhaps the size of his task as Ipswich Town’s new goalkeeper is starting to become apparent.
The 28-year-old is arguably one of the shrewdest signings of the season, arriving on deadline day for around £2m from West Brom, rising to £4m, you’d assume, if Ipswich survive. Right now, ‘if’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.
A star showing on his Premier League debut saw Palmer having what he described as the ‘surreal’ experience of being analysed on the BBC’s Match of the Day, by his childhood goalkeeping hero, Joe Hart.
It’s rare that the biggest cheer in a stadium before kick-off is for the home goalkeeper but perhaps that tells its own story. Arijanet Muric was error-strewn for Burnley last season and after conceding 33 in 18 starts and a total of five mistakes leading directly to goals for Ipswich in this campaign, Kieran McKenna finally relegated the Kosovan ‘keeper to the bench. Now is the chance for the new man to stop his side suffering a similar fate.
Palmer is a bag of energy. With the ball at the other end, he is a constant whir of stretches, side-steps and shuffles. “He’s chatty he talks a lot, sometimes a bit too much”, joked defender Jacob Greaves before their home game with Spurs. “But he’s been good, especially his debut against [Aston] Villa.” Those sentiments were echoed by his manager Kieran McKenna, describing him as a ‘really good communicator’.
“We don’t expect him to be perfect, no-one is. There’s going to be mistakes along the way from every player, but he’s a very good goalkeeper and he’s made a good start.”
‘A good name for a goalkeeper’, quipped Gary Lineker in the MOTD studio after his last-minute acrobatics got them a point on the road but their defensive display against Spurs will bring a very different Saturday night dissection.
Ipswich play with a level of naivety that the Premier League refuses to humour. Ben Godfrey has just five appearances for Atalanta this season. McKenna’s ring-rusty new loanee was gobbled up by Heung-Min Son who twice teed up Brennan Johnson for a two-goal lead inside the first 30 minutes.
But Tottenham had started as slowly as the matchday traffic that traverses the River Orwell, which snakes through Ipswich. And, thanks to the human battering ram that is Liam Delap, Ipswich could have been out of sight with a flurry of early opportunities.
Omari Hutchinson’s cool finish got them back into the tie before the break, but the second half again got away from them. Picking the wrong decisions in the final third, Ipswich were frustratingly picked apart at the other end.
I’ve seen a lot of Palmer this season at West Brom. I’d say up close, but such is the gantry at The Hawthorns, it’s been from quite far away. He is confident with his claims, a solid shot-stopper and not afraid to use his feet. In Town’s pre-match programme notes, Palmer says he puts that down to being trained with the ball whilst at Albion’s academy.
His senior career has now seen him play in the top six divisions of English Football. Relegated from the National League on loan at Kidderminster before returning for a second campaign, he then tasted success with promotion from League Two with Plymouth Argyle. His break into the West Brom 1XI came after a full season in League One with Lincoln City. And last season, he shared The Championship golden glove with Leeds United’s Ilan Meslier after 18 clean sheets, 12 of which were picked up at home.
It’s at his new home where his team desperately need to stop the rot which now sees them winless in 2025. That’s despite the fevered atmosphere that greets the players as they emerge from the tunnel. A pew at Portman Road is the hottest ticket in town, despite their dire record.
“The supporters know the journey we’ve been on. Five years ago, we were in the middle of League One and they were in the Champions League Final”, Kieran McKenna said after their 4-1 defeat to Spurs was confirmed.
“The supporters are clever enough here and honest and balanced enough to see a lot of good things on the pitch today. They’re taking pride in some of the things that they’re seeing. Of course, they’re frustrated like we’re frustrated.”
At full time, Palmer took the applause of the home faithful and shared a moment with his old West Brom captain and defensive teammate, Dara O’Shea. It was a chastening afternoon for both as they took a moment to applaud an emptying stand. These afternoons have been all too many at Portman Road and relegation will be a certainty without vast improvement.
But, the last line of defence is now in place, even if it is too late.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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