Whatever Happened To... Thomas Pinault
Frenchman Pinault left the U's at the end of the 2003-04 season, after five seasons at Layer Road. At the age of 17 he was thrown into first team football by Mick Wadsworth, but didn't establish himself in the first team properly until 2001, under Steve Whitton. He went on to make 157 appearances for United, scoring seven goals.
Following unsuccessful trials at Northampton Town and Dundee United, he earned a contract at Grimsby Town. He spent a year with the Mariners, making 47 appearances and scoring seven goals, before having a season out of football with a leg injury.
In the summer of 2006 he joined Brentford on trial and secured a one-year contract. The Bees were relegated from League One that season and he was released, having made 31 appearances, scoring one goal.
He signed for Crawley Town in the Conference after leaving Brentford and spent three seasons at the Broadfield Stadium, making 109 appearances and scoring eight goals, before being released at the end of the 2009-10 season.
He then returned to his native France and joined his home town team RC Grasse who play in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 Group E (the French amateur championship), where he remains today.
Clubs since leaving the U's: Grimsby Town, Brentford, Crawley Town, Racing Club de Grasse (France).
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Leeds United have issued the retained list for the 2024/5 season, and while much of it confirms what we already know, on the face of it there are a couple of surprises.
Today Leeds announced that Red Bull have bought a minority stake in the club, and will take over as the main shirt sponsor, but thankfully there will be no change in the name of the club or the colour of the shirt.
The 49ers have plenty of cash available to invest in Leeds United, but defeat in the 49th game of the League season means that some key players will be leaving to keep the club with the Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) regulations.
****ing Southampton. Again. ****ing Adam Armstrong. Again. ****ing Play-offs. Again. Grrrrrr.
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
As you probably know already, our play-off final against with Southampton kicks off at 3pm on Sunday. And if you didn’t manage to get your hands on a ticket, it’s live on Sky Sports.
With our recent form being what it was, I was expecting a nervy encounter, with Leeds struggling to get through the Norwich City defence, but how wrong I was! Suddenly we recovered the swagger we have shown for much of the season, and not a moment too soon.
Many neutrals have complained on social media that yesterday’s game at Norwich City was a bit on the dull side, but the Leeds team wasn't set up to please them. For us it was the result that mattered, and it should leave us in a better position to get through to the final.
For the second time this season we are visiting Norwich City, this time for the play-off game at high noon on Sunday, and the kick-off time is of course thanks to our good friends at Sky Sports. You’ll find Carrow Road is about a mile to the south-east of the city centre.
If we were ever going to have a final day miracle we needed a much better performance than this final day showing against Southampton, so now we have to endure the agony of the play-offs yet again.