Aiden Witting Palmer (born 2 January 1987) is an English retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

and

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

Club career

After struggling to keep a first-team place at

, Palmer went on loan to

on 27 January 2009, and stayed for a month. He made his debut on the same day in the Daggers' 1–1 draw at

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. On his return, he made no further appearances for Orient, and was released at the end of the season. He was subsequently sentenced to 22 months in jail for violent disorder, after being involved with gangs. He joined

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

after his release. On 11 January 2010, Palmer signed for

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on a free transfer until the end of the season as a replacement for Anthony Tonkin. The move re-united him with

Martin Ling Martin Ling (born 15 July 1966) is an English Association football, football manager and former player currently director of football for Leyton Orient F.C., Leyton Orient. He played in over 100 The Football League, Football League matches for ...

, his former manager at Leyton Orient. On 17 January 2010, Palmer made his debut for Cambridge United against Eastbourne Borough and received the man of the match award. He was released by Ling at the end of the season, whereupon he was re-signed by

. In April 2011, Palmer went on trial with

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. On 14 April 2011, Watford manager

Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player, who is the sporting director at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian. Mackay, who played as a Defe ...

confirmed that Palmer would remain at Watford on trial until the end of the 2010–11 season. In June 2011, Palmer signed for Chelmsford City and made over 100 appearances in all competitions before leaving for

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

in June 2013. In August 2015, Palmer re-joined Chelmsford on a loan deal. On 24 February 2017, Palmer joined

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

on non-contract terms. On 12 August 2017, Palmer announced his retirement from football due to a reoccurring knee problem.

Coaching career

In 2017, following his retirement, Palmer entered coaching, initially coaching

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team of the ...

's under-16's, beforing moving up to coach the club's under-18's.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Aiden 1987 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Enfield People from Enfield, London English men's footballers Leyton Orient F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players English Football League players Chelmsford City F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Margate F.C. players Men's association football defenders Black British sportsmen English football coaches 21st-century English sportsmen