The father of Wrexham star Ollie Palmer has called out the club’s January spending after his son was left out of the squad yet again.

The 33-year-old has not played a single minute or even made the bench in League One since strikers Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez were brought in towards the end of the winter transfer window. Smith was signed from Reading for a club record fee of around £2million, while former Premier League ace Rodriguez joined from Burnley for an undisclosed sum, but was reportedly offered wages worth up to £15,000 per week.

Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney joked in a video released at the weekend that the new recruits had left them significantly out of pocket. Advertising a 50 per cent off sale on all kits, they urged the club’s supporters to get buying to cover their losses, comparing owning a football club to “lighting money on fire”.

However, the partnership of Smith and Rodriguez has so far delivered just one goal for the Red Dragons, with Smith scoring in a 2-0 win away at Northampton last month. Meanwhile, Palmer has only featured once after coming on as a substitute at Port Vale in the EFL Trophy in early February.

Palmer’s dad, Andy, has now taken a swipe at the significant financial outlay on the pair in a post on social media, also calling on Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson to “swallow his pride” and start playing his son. Palmer Snr, a former protection officer for the Royal Family, made his comments after the Welsh side drew a blank in a goalless draw at home against Bolton on Saturday.

The result saw Wrexham fail to draw level on points with Wycombe in second, remaining two points adrift in third. Smith and Rodriguez were both substituted in the 78th minute of the match after being unable to find the net, making way for Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher.

“They were a good buy,” Andy wrote in response to a post about the changes on the club’s official X account, followed by a series of thinking face emojis. In a further message after the final whistle, he said: “PP (Phil Parkinson) and SP (Steve Parkin) need to swallow their pride. Need to look at the team they had before Christmas!! That team got them to where they are now…just saying. Maybe a Smith and Palmer upfront.”

Palmer and his dad starred together in the second series of Welcome to Wrexham, the hit documentary charting Reynolds and McElhenney’s time as owners. In an emotional episode, Ollie recalled how his parents split up when he was a child, and Andy later came out to the family as gay.

The striker described the day his dad walked out as “really f***ing hard”. Discussing a row which broke out at the time, he said: “That’s what I really remember. Just sitting in the study and hearing them all arguing in the dining room. And then we were all crying.”

Andy worked for the Royals for 25 years in total, spending a decade as personal protection officer to King Charles III when he was the Prince of Wales. The two were reunited in December 2022 when Charles and the Queen Consort paid a visit to Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground to meet the owners.

Following his dad’s remarks, Ollie shared a series of cryptic comments on Instagram on Sunday. They included a post featuring images of the striker’s No. 9 shirt and showing him in action on the pitch.

It was accompanied by the caption “Been a minute” followed by a dice emoji. The post was liked by a number of Palmer’s team-mates, including striker partner Paul Mullin.

Mullin was also left out of the squad on Saturday, despite scoring a whopping 110 goals for the club in the last three seasons. Several fans replied to the post calling for the pair to be reinstated to the starting XI.

One supporter said: “We need you and Mullin upfront in the Wrexham FC squad.” A second person wrote: “We miss you Ollie – we need you back upfront with Mullin.” Meanwhile, another fan added: “Bro’s gotta get minutes with Mullin.”

Palmer also shared a few Instagram stories, including a picture of him looking disgruntled in training and another highlighting his statistics so far this season, which include 26 league starts, three goals and two assists. “Hanging on in there,” he commented, followed by a laughing face emoji.

Palmer was linked with a move away from Wrexham at the end of the recent transfer window, with teams like Bristol Rovers expressing an interest in him. However, as per the BBC, the former AFC Wimbledon man opted to stay and fight for his place after winning back-to-back promotions in his last two seasons in North Wales.

Wrexham AFC is the arguably the fastest-growing club in the world at the moment thanks to a certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Dragons have achieved two consecutive promotions and are cheered on by crowds from not only North Wales but also from all over the globe, thanks to the success of the Disney+ documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.

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He has become a popular figure at Wrexham since joining for a then-club record fee of £300,000 in January 2022. As well as featuring prominently in Welcome to Wrexham, he also enjoyed a brief cameo in last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine movie.

Palmer appeared alongside club co-owner Reynolds in the background of a bar scene. Speaking about his involvement in the film on the Men in Blazers podcast, he said: “It was a wicked experience, a very unique one that I’m really grateful for. It was a special day that I will always remember.”

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