Former England star Carlton Palmer was once ‘stitched-up’ by his Sheffield Wednesday teammates which resulted in him staying out until 4am on a boozing bender with Rod Stewart
Former England star Carlton Palmer once ended up on a 4am boozy bender with the legendary Rod Stewart just eight hours before playing in a Premier League game.
Back in 1994, Palmer was part of the Sheffield Wednesday side who faced off against Queens Park Rangers on New Year’s Day in a 12pm kick-off. The Owls won the game 2-1, coming from behind after Les Ferdinand put QPR in front.
But, despite the win, one individual who was struggling throughout the contest at Loftus Road was Palmer, who was nursing a huge hangover after being “stitched-up” by Chris Waddle and Chris Woods.
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Just eight hours prior to the clash against QPR, the trio were enjoying a night out in central London, with Waddle and Woods both knowing they would not be playing in the New Year’s Day clash – unbeknownst to Palmer, who found out he was starting at 10.30am.
A few drinks in the pub turned into a 4am bender, which led to Palmer, who turned 58 last week, partying in London with the legendary rock star Stewart, a man known for enjoying himself to say the least.
“I was stitched up by Waddle and Woods,” Palmer told West Brom podcast Woodman Corner. “They both knew that they weren’t playing.
“I thought we were all in the same boat until the team was named on the Saturday. The lads were going to go and have a few drinks at the pub that was local and it ended up being a session.
“So at 4 o’clock in the morning I’m coming out of Tramps nightclub and we’ve got a game at 12 o’clock against QPR.
“Then we get a team meeting the next morning and them two aren’t playing. They both failed fitness tests and knew they weren’t playing, and I was playing, so it was a nightmare.”
Palmer said he had a lot to thank Des Walker for. The legendary defender saw Palmer throw up by the side of the pitch during the warm-up, but managed to get his team-mate through the game.
Palmer recalled: “Des put his arm on my shoulder and said: ‘Just follow Les Ferdinand around as best as you can and I’ll do the rest’.
“The worst moment came in the second half. They turned on the floodlights and the sudden brightness dazzled me. I didn’t know where I was. I was facing the wrong way until Les said: ‘Let me give you a hand’ and gently turned me through 180 degrees.
“I also remember spotting Woods and Waddler in the dugout, p****** themselves and giving me an extravagant thumbs-up.”
Stewart is a big football fan – and a big drinker – two facts Palmer only learned as the night wore on. It was Woods who introduced Stewart to Palmer. “Woodsy was in there and Woodsy knows Rod Stewart, who was in there with his missus,” added Palmer.
“I didn’t know, I saw some bloke with his hair all over the place and as we were coming out we got photographed. They weren’t there for us, they were there for Rod Stewart, it just so happened we gave them a story.”