Danny Röhl was delighted with the atmosphere for Liam Palmer’s Sheffield Wednesday testimonial, and insists that it’s not a goodbye.
Thousands of fans turned out to celebrate Palmer’s Owls career on Saturday afternoon, with the match against LaLiga side Leganes ending in a 0-0 draw at Hillsborough. This was the club’s final preseason game before next weekend’s clash with Plymouth Argyle.
Palmer, donning the captain’s armband, started the match and was substituted late in the game to a standing ovation. He was also met with a big hug from the manager as he left the field.
Röhl expressed his pleasure with how everything played out, both on and off the pitch, and mentioned how impressed he was to see photos of a young Palmer in his Owls kit in the matchday programme.
“It was a great atmosphere in the stadium, a lot of people for a friendly game,” he told The Star. “We wanted to give Liam a good game; he deserved it. It was crazy when I opened the programme today—I saw how he’s really grown up with this club, for 20 years or more.
“It’s not normal in football to have such a career at one club, and even though it might feel like it’s the end, it’s not the end. He is still part of our squad, a good player for us. It’s not a goodbye, just a small step in between.
“For this, it was great, and for the sports science, it was a good test to see where we are. The second half against Werder Bremen showed a lot of good things; today we saw a lot of good things, and now it’s about finalisation and the final third to win such games.
“It’s good to play without conceding; the defense was great to see, but we want to win games—and to do that, we have to work for the next week to be ready. Hopefully we’ll have a full stadium with a lot of fans, because we know what it means to play with their energy.”
Wednesday face Plymouth next Sunday at 4 p.m. as the season gets underway properly. If Palmer plays, it will be his 436th appearance, which—especially in the modern game—is frankly a bit remarkable.
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