This week, Rangers Football Club posted an update on all the Rangers players currently out on loan. One of the academy players mentioned was Cammy Palmer. The 19-year-old is loaned out to Partick Thistle right now.
Palmer played 90 minutes on the weekend during Thistle’s 1-0 win in the Scottish Cup (Rangers). But how has the midfielder done during his 16 appearances this season?
TIF Tactics – A look at Palmer’s progression at Partick Thistle
During this review we will analyse Palmer’s performances over a 90-minute average this season. He has played 859 minutes so far this season scoring one goal and registering one assist.
As a central-midfielder, it is important for Palmer to have good stats in every area. His passing is one of his strong suits, averaging 31.96 passes every 90 minutes. His passing accuracy is only 78.7%, which isn’t the highest for a central midfielder, but it isn’t worryingly low either. It certainly leaves room for improvement.
One area of interest regarding Palmer’s passing statistics is that he averages more forward passes than back passes. He averages 9.22 forward passes and 5.55 backwards passes per 90 minutes. This indicates that the player is eager to get the ball forward to his attacking teammates. He clearly favours passing instead of dribbling, as he only averages 1.89 dribbles per 90 minutes.
Despite scoring a goal already this season, attacking isn’t Palmer’s strong suit. He only averages 0.63 shots per 90 minutes with a 16.7% accuracy. He does exceed his xG (expected goals) of 0.07 goals per 90, but only slightly, averaging just 0.1 goals per game.
Palmer is much more of a defensive midfielder. He averages 9.43 defensive duels per 90 minutes, with a 61.1% accuracy, and averages 4.19 aerial duels, with a 35% accuracy. The Scotsman also averages 3.49 interceptions, 1.36 clearances and 10.69 recoveries every full game of football.
Would you like to see Cammy Palmer back at Rangers?
Yes
No
It appears that Palmer is progressing quite well at Partick Thistle. His defensive contributions are impressive. It is also clear that he likes to progress the ball forward and isn’t concerned about playing the safe option all the time. This does show in his passing accuracy, however, and it would be great to see the midfielder increase his completed passes into the mid 80% range.
When it comes to attacking, Rangers fans shouldn’t expect too much from Palmer. This isn’t his area of expertise. If the player does make the move back to Rangers at some point there is potential for him to make a real impact in the future. But this player review suggests that he still has a bit of development to do before he can stake a claim in Steven Gerrard’s side.