Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin are pivotal parts of Wrexham’s history, but neither striker can earn minutes anymore.
For the most part, much of the talk from fans in the last two months has been the lack of game time for Paul Mullin.
This is not surprising given the 30-year-old has scored over 100 goals for Wrexham since his transfer from Cambridge United.
But it’s worth remembering that Ollie Palmer also arrived at the Racecourse Ground in 2021/22 – albeit six months later – and was instrumental in firing the Red Dragons from the National League all the way up to League One.
Like Mullin, however, the former AFC Wimbledon striker hasn’t played a single minute of league football since Wrexham lost 3-2 versus Stevenage on January 28th, 2025 – their first home defeat in 10 months.
So, fans, especially those who grew to love Palmer after watching him in the ‘Welcome to Wrexham‘ documentary, may be wondering why he’s now failed to make the club’s last 12 League One matchday squads.
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Jay Rodriguez and Sam Smith preferred to Ollie Palmer
Palmer’s last appearance in the league was toward the end of the 2025 January transfer window.
Three days later, Wrexham signed Sam Smith from Reading in a record transfer and Jay Rodriguez from Burnley.
Both players cost Wrexham a fair bit in wages or transfer fees, and it’s become clear that the duo are now Parkinson’s favoured striking partnership.
Speaking after the win over Stockport County late last month, Smith and Rodriguez were praised by their manager.
He said: “Tireless work for the team from Sam again. He just never stopped, he backed into people and, like Jay, he’s got great intelligence with and without the ball.”
More recently, Parkinson labelled Rodriguez ‘extraordinary’, saying: “His physical output is the highest on the pitch which is extraordinary really.
“That’s the level you’ve got to get to to be a Premier League and Championship player. His intelligence, the positions he takes up in and out of possession has helped the team a lot.”
Whether fans like Rodriguez or not, it’s become clear the ex-Burnley man is heavily in favour, while there’s no denying Smith has been an excellent buy.
| Stats | Sam Smith (for Wrexham) | Jay Rodriguez | Ollie Palmer |
| Goals | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Appearances | 13 | 13 | 31 |
Steven Fletcher is excellent for Wrexham off the bench
With Smith and Rodriguez the go-to front two right now, fans may want to see Palmer selected as a substitute.
However, Parkinson likes to have one big man and a more agile striker on his bench for every game.
Given that Palmer is a physical striker best used as a target man, he is competing with Steven Fletcher for a place on the bench.
However, there really isn’t any chance of Parkinson dropping the Scotsman so Palmer can get back in the team.
Fletcher has dominated League One this season, scoring a league-high seven goals as a sub and unfortunately for Palmer, he just hasn’t been able to compete with that.