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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Another meeting with Sheff Wed, another chastening at the hands of the division’s best manager, as QPR end a run of four straight league wins and five in a row at home.
Pictures from Ian Randall at Loftus Road where QPR's red hot run of form ground to a halt with a 2-0 home loss to bogey side Sheffield Wednesday.
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
After returning from a logistically epic road trip with maximum points, QPR can match consecutive win records that have stood for 20 years if they can finally find a way to overcome Sheffield Wednesday and the division’s best manager.
Sheff Wed’s dramatic improvement under the brilliant management of Danny Rohl has had two torpedoes put in its side by the latest explosion of insanity from the club’s mental chairman Derek Chansiri – Jon Hore (@j_ho9) despairs.
We're back to 1988 for the memorable match this week as Jim Smith's QPR halt the rot of a dire start to the season with a 2-0 victory over Sheff Wed on the new grass pitch at Loftus Road.
Fast tracked Premier League referee Sam Allison will take charge of QPR at Loftus Road for the first time this Saturday as Sheff Wed visit West London.
QPR continued their remarkable upward trajectory with a fourth straight victory to move them within four points and places of the play-offs, Hull City the victims this time.
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Upwardly mobile QPR face another long distance away trip tonight as they attempt to back up the weekend win at Plymouth by slaying another of the division’s strugglers Hull City.