Looked good at times, but to be honest, I thought he was abysmal in a few games too. There's definitely potential there, and time will tell if it's a good move for him. Of course, we can only thank him for being part of our promotion-winning team.
That said, I do think we can do a bit better—and I get the feeling Nathan thinks the same. But that's not to say he wouldn't have signed him if he'd accepted the lower wage we offered. £11k a week for four years is just too much of a gamble for us to spend on Small, in my opinion.
Can't remember who said it on here earlier in the thread, but we had a lot of patience with Small. Preston fans will be expecting him to perform and if he still can't shoot or cross consistently next season then I can't imagine they'll be particularly thrilled about it.
Can categorically say, we aren’t. Most of us have wanted the club to sign young players we can develop. Yes, we are very pleased to get this deal done but the vast majority appreciate he’s still very raw. As I’ve said previously though, pace is what of a novelty in our squad. So that’s very welcome.
Small leaving isn’t the end of the world, the most irritating thing about it is a 20 year old championship footballer automatically goes for 7 figures minimum we’ve lost out on a very good pay day and his potential is up there. However, his current ability isn’t irreplaceable no guarantee he smashes it in the championship. We’re going to be doing much more defending this year and Small’s defensive abilities like positioning, decision making would have been a liability. Even going forward 5 G/A in 39 L1 games one is poor even considering in possession he plays more like a winger than a wingback. 3 of those G/A also came from Wollacott and Norris not stopping easy chances and Santos passing the ball straight to him. Plenty of other proven championship players who for next season would be an improvement on small maybe not long term but definitely short term which we really need considering we’re likely to be battling relegation
Can't remember who said it on here earlier in the thread, but we had a lot of patience with Small. Preston fans will be expecting him to perform and if he still can't shoot or cross consistently next season then I can't imagine they'll be particularly thrilled about it.
Can categorically say, we aren’t. Most of us have wanted the club to sign young players we can develop. Yes, we are very pleased to get this deal done but the vast majority appreciate he’s still very raw. As I’ve said previously though, pace is what of a novelty in our squad. So that’s very welcome.
He’s made a financial decision , which I can’t criticise . I’m not saying you aren’t better than us - you will be , but he would have played 40 games for us next year.
For me there’s a hint of Alfie May situation about this… reckon he might have stayed but Jones didn’t really want him or certainly show him the love he would have needed to convince him
Not buying that, he's got a history of doing just this at previous clubs - comes in, looks good, gets a move/pay rise then off to the next club to repeat the cycle. I won't hold it against him, it's not personal he's done it at every other club before us.
If anything I'd guess maybe he/his agent was trying to get a better deal from Charlton but the bluff was called - if he really thinks Preston is that much better, well go ahead and prove it.
Says it’s the best club for him right now ??? he is desperately trying to get back in the big league and does not matter who he uses on the way ?
Nothing wrong in belief in your own ability Ronnie, the problem for Thierry is that a few managers did not share that belief. He still has a lot to learn but is young enough to get there.
He wants to play left back. For us he played right wing. He’s strong and confident and has bags of talent. He helped us get promoted, I wish him well. We’ll adapt.
Slightly off topic, but do any of our fans on here actually join another team's forum when we sign one of their players? Has anyone joined the Blackpool forum today? Or Cardiff’s? I just find it a bit weird, really.
Unsure if it's been mentioned but it's worth remembering, Small was brought in in Jan and Jones went out last summer and got an upgrade as soon as he feasibly could. Small got a chance due to Sean Clare's assault on Josh Edwards and as soon as Edwards was fit again, Small was out the side, it's only after moving to RW did he finally find a home but was still quite inconsistent, and whilst yes he was exciting, I question how much of that is down to just him and TC having raw pace and trickery, (hopefully something we address this window) it's also quite telling that in the home leg at 0-0 he was hooked off, all the above makes me feel it's someone Jones and the club would of liked to have kept, it's not someone we'd break the bank, or our wage structure for.
He wants to play left back. For us he played right wing. He’s strong and confident and has bags of talent. He helped us get promoted, I wish him well. We’ll adapt.
No he didn't. Told me face to face he preferred right wing, I had no reason to disbelieve him.
He was one of our best players. Will be a real miss.
Not that I am picking on this one particular comment but one thing I would say is….we are in the championship now, Small will be up against better full backs week in week out….for anyone who was at the Birmingham away game they will remember Thierry being completely non existent as Cochrane did an absolute number on him!
I’m sad to see him go as he could have grown with us but let’s get real, he is not irreplaceable as a few on here have already mentioned.
He was one of our best players. Will be a real miss.
Not that I am picking on this one particular comment but one thing I would say is….we are in the championship now, Small will be up against better full backs week in week out….for anyone who was at the Birmingham away game they will remember Thierry being completely non existent as Cochrane did an absolute number on him!
I’m sad to see him go as he could have grown with us but let’s get real, he is not irreplaceable as a few on here have already mentioned.
At least it won’t be Watson there as the replacement .
I liked him and we suffered when he was out of the team once we got the balance of the team working. He’s a nice guy but clearly lured by PNE and yes it’s not exactly a skyward type of move so baffling for sure. But of all the players we could lose he’s the one I can stomach. Surely Jones and Chapple will get a proper replacement. Who would you want within our budget?
Losing Small is absolutely not the end of the world - losing Ramsey or Jones (Lloyd or Nathan!) would have been much worse. Very odd move to go to Preston.
I liked him and we suffered when he was out of the team once we got the balance of the team working. He’s a nice guy but clearly lured by PNE and yes it’s not exactly a skyward type of move so baffling for sure. But of all the players we could lose he’s the one I can stomach. Surely Jones and Chapple will get a proper replacement. Who would you want within our budget?
Someone solid defensively and good going forward, that allows Ramsay to stay where he is .
Manager Nathan Jones said: "We wish Thierry all the best. We tried to keep him at the club and offered him a contract, which he turned down. He felt Preston was a better fit for him, so we thank him for his contribution and wish him well."
That reads pretty cold to me and not someone we were particularly fighting hard for.
What do we surmise “he felt Preston was a better fit for him” meant? In terms of football? Money?
Even though I had pretty much decided he was off I’m still gutted. And honestly it’s gutted from all sides, I loved watching the bloke as he although can be frustrating is a gets your arse off your seat player but also I’m genuinely gutted for him as I truly believe he would have been better served staying and developing here. that said good luck Thierry thanks for your efforts here
Manager Nathan Jones said: "We wish Thierry all the best. We tried to keep him at the club and offered him a contract, which he turned down. He felt Preston was a better fit for him, so we thank him for his contribution and wish him well."
That reads pretty cold to me and not someone we were particularly fighting hard for.
What does we surmise “he felt Preston was a better fit for him” meant? In terms of football? Money?
Probably just paraphrasing his bloody agent, who we could probably blame all this on...
Manager Nathan Jones said: "We wish Thierry all the best. We tried to keep him at the club and offered him a contract, which he turned down. He felt Preston was a better fit for him, so we thank him for his contribution and wish him well."
That reads pretty cold to me and not someone we were particularly fighting hard for.
What does we surmise “he felt Preston was a better fit for him” meant? In terms of football? Money?
Money. I reckon Charlton offered better than his current contract but not what he believed he was worth.
Comments
No doubt in a season or twos time you'll find him in the 'not quite at it' wingers scrapheap along with Balckett,-Taylor and John Leko!
Only joking. Did well enough for us. Footballs a short life. Grab it while you can Thierry.
If anything I'd guess maybe he/his agent was trying to get a better deal from Charlton but the bluff was called - if he really thinks Preston is that much better, well go ahead and prove it.
I'm sure the recruitment team would've planned for this outcome & will have a replacement lined up
that said good luck Thierry thanks for your efforts here
I doubt we will miss him in the long run.
we move on, and get a better replacement who also has an end product 👍👍👍