For the benefit of younger fans Carlton Palmer was a player with Saints from September 1997 until January 1999, he left without much good to say about the club, yet suddenly in the last few months he seem to offer an opinion in the media on everything Saints related.
Carlton Palmer was a footballer in the late 90's for Saints who in a little over 15 months played 52 games for Saints scoring 3 goals, described as abrasive, awkward and argumentative at most of the 9 League clubs he represented he surprisingly also won 18 caps for England.
After leaving Saints aged 33 his career was almost at an end in terms of the number of games and he played around the lower divisions playing his last League game in 2005, dropping out of view of the media long before then.
Since then he has scraped a living in various football academies mainly in the North of England and also an Estate Agent in Sheffield.
In April 2021 he became the manager of Grantham Town and in the last few months seems to be trying to force his way into the media through online football media sites.
Hence over the past few months he seems to have become several websites go to guy on Southampton FC, despite severing all ties with the club some 22 years ago and rarely returning to the club or indeed the area since.
Suddenly he is the expert on Saints and the man giving the exclusive in the know opinions, whether it is claiming that Danny Ings is nailed on to go to one club or another, mainly Spurs and never to my recollection Aston Villa or other tittle tattle he has been trying to make click bait.
On Tuesday he claimed that Ryan Christie was "itching for a deadline day move to Southampton" the headline looks good. but the rest of the quotes from Carlton aren't anything other than his own opinion based on literally nothing else.
"Anybody who wants to play football wants to play in the Premier League, that is for sure. Of course, I think he’d jump at the chance.
"Southampton is a fabulous football club. I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumped at the opportunity.”
So how was Ryan Christie itching to play for Saints you tell me ?
His latest one today screams "Ex-Southampton midfielder hints at James Ward-Prowse release clause"
Yet the article has little in it other than Palmer "Thinks" he may have a release clause.
I have no problem with ex players making comments about the club, but if you are going to get an Ex Saint to talk about Southampton FC then at least get one who knows what he is talking about and clearly Carlton Palmer doesn't, I could probably give a better diagnosis on Grantham Town.
If you was to put forward information as being in the know then at least quote a player who actually knows something about the club and has taken an interest in it over the past 22 years, he left without fanfare and since he departed has never mentioned us at all until this moment.
If there have been 250 players who have turned out for us since his time at the club, then it would be in the 240's before you suggested the name of Carlton Palmer.
Perhaps he has fallen on hard times and needs the money, but it does gall me a little to see a player who cared little for the club both during his time here and after to start to suddenly be the World's expert.