Cod Almighty | Article

by Various

1 July 2004

In 1999, the French rugby XV produced one of the great team performances of all time to overcome New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final. The TV panelists were stumped. There was a phrase they needed, but with a Frenchman on the panel they couldn't resort to national stereotyping. Finally he put them out of their misery by using the phrase himself: "Gallic flair". Thomas Pinault has put us out of our misery early on: "In France, it is more skilful, more of a beautiful game".

To Mariners, however, he feels like more of a throwback to what we like to think of as our traditional virtues than an exotic import, his pre-season appearances drawing comparisons with Dave Gilbert and Wayne Burnett. Pinault is quick to reject suggestions that he will not fit in with the current emphasis on workrate, though: "It is more physical in England but I don't mind that. You have to be an all-round athlete to play nowadays - the times of George Best and drinking all the time have finished." This assertion may surprise some Colchester supporters, who suggest that the stalling of his career last season owes something to a fondness for beer and cigarettes more reminiscent of Gallimore than Gilbert.

The 22-year-old midfielder arrived at Layer Road five years ago on a free transfer from Cannes. It took him a couple of years to break into the first team, but he has been a regular in the last two seasons, making 157 appearances in all and scoring seven goals. On his day he can be a match-winner, but those days became too infrequent last season for the Us to feel more than a passing regret at his departure for what might have been. He rejected a contract offer from Northampton for a trial with Dundee United, before settling for Blundell Park on a one-year deal.

So what will Pinault offer the Mariners? Russell Slade is very clear: "He can play the sitting role but he can also go forward and is a good passer." By way of subtle contrast, Pinault himself says: "I like to pass it forward and play the ball to feet. I can get forward, but I can also play the sitting role as well." All in all, expect some combination of passing, going forward and metaphorical sitting, and hope that the Grimsby Telegraph has cause to apply "Gallic flair" liberally to its coverage this year.