Ollie Palmer is no stranger to famous faces sitting in the stands, and he is still experiencing that – even after leaving Wrexham.
Wrexham allowed Ollie Palmer to leave the club in August, paving the way for a permanent move to Swindon Town.
Palmer had made himself a hero in Wrexham’s rise through the leagues, but struggled for action in 2025 as Phil Parkinson chased promotion.
Palmer has shown flashes of his quality early in his Swindon career, and he was given his first league start on Saturday.
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How Ollie Palmer fared in his first league start for Swindon Town
Ian Holloway decided to bring Palmer into the Swindon starting XI away at Mark Howard’s Salford City.
Swindon fell 2-0 down in the first half, but rallied back to draw level at 2-2 with just seven minutes left to play.
Salford managed to find an injury-time winner, though, as Kallum Cesay condemned Swindon to just a third defeat in nine League One games.
Palmer played 76 minutes for Swindon and couldn’t find the net, but he did put his only shot of the game on target.
Palmer also won four aerial duels, played one key pass, and had 30 touches of the ball, even chipping in with three clearances on the defensive end.
This perhaps wasn’t the absolutely perfect first start for Palmer, but he is still settling in at Swindon and has already shown how he can make a huge impact.
Palmer was used to seeing Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds in the stands at Wrexham, as well as the likes of Hugh Jackman and Channing Tatum.
The former Wrexham striker played in front of another celebrity on Saturday, as David Beckham watched on.
Beckham admitted to being inspired by Ryan Reynolds after completing a takeover of Salford earlier in 2025.
Palmer was left disappointed by Saturday’s result, but Beckham will have certainly enjoyed seeing his side grab a dramatic late winner.
Swindon Town boss highlights Ollie Palmer issue
We have no real doubts about Palmer’s ability to shine at League Two level, and the goals will almost certainly flow for him soon enough.
Swindon boss Holloway has previously highlighted a concern around Palmer, though, suggesting that his players just want to play long balls up to the striker.
Holloway doesn’t want to become one-dimensional with Palmer on the pitch, and he reiterated that stance after Saturday’s defeat.
Speaking on Swindon’s official YouTube channel, Holloway noted that he has no interest in simply playing long ball into Palmer and urged his players to understand the identity he is seeking at Swindon.
“We need to be brave enough to play against everybody, even if we’ve made a couple of mistakes, to play against everybody and keep playing the way that we want our identity to look like,” said Holloway.
“They managed to stop us doing that in the first half. I reminded them, changed it, switched it, and we got back in the game, deservedly so, and then to let one in is harsh, but we made a mistake. So well done to their spirit, to their belief, how well things are going for them at the minute. But I want us to understand our identity, because putting Ollie Palmer in, they seem to think that we can hit him on the head and that ain’t how I want to play,” he added.
Palmer is certainly a major threat from long balls and crosses into the box, but Holloway understands that he can offer so much more – and that should become clear over the course of the season.