The Tremendous Terell Thomas

One of the standout performers in Carlisle United’s recent games is captain Terell Thomas. His defending and performances have come under much scrutiny in his time at Brunton Park but recently he’s been vastly improved and one of the best players in Carlisle’s last three games.

A Closer Look At Terell Thomas

Since his arrival at Brunton Park from Charlton Athletic in 2024 his defensive partnership with Sam Lavelle and later Aaron Hayden received plenty of criticism and rightfully so. Defensive errors, not doing the basics and gifting opposition teams goals were synonymous with Carlisle’s defence over the last couple of years and one of the main reasons the Cumbrians have had to go through back-to-back relegations. All of this wasn’t just on Thomas but with Lavelle having moved on and Hayden being dropped that only leaves Thomas in the team every week and supporters rightfully had some concerns.

How Has Thomas Performed?

At the start of the season with the additions of Morgan Feeney and Bevis Mugabi you’d have been right in think that Mark Hughes wasn’t happy with his options at centre back and with Thomas having a couple of shaky games against Woking and Boreham Wood it looked a certainty that he was going to lose his place when Feeney was fully fit.

The Solihull Moors game was where everything change for Terrell Thomas, the performance as a team wasn’t the best but Thomas managed to get a captain’s goal and pinch us a point from that game and from then he’s not looked back. Thomas was outstanding against Wealdstone in a hard fought 1-0 away win and was one of the standout performers against Braintree in a more straight forward 5-0 win over the bank holiday weekend.

Thomas seems to have his confidence back, his first touch has improved, his positioning has been incredible at times and his ability to read the game has meant him and Bevis Mugabi have build a solid defensive partnership and now Mark Hughes’ side not only have back-to-back victories but also back-to-back clean sheets and three clean sheets in five games and Thomas has played every minute of every game and has been trusted with the captain’s armband by Mark Hughes.

Why Am I Writing This Article?

I have written this article because I firmly believe players get a lot of criticism and we are quick to do that so I think it’s only fair we are even handed so we should praise them with the same energy.

Thomas has been excellent in recent matches as have the team as a whole and long may it continue.

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