Claim made on whether Rob Apter is an upgrade on Thierry Small at Charlton Athletic | OneFootball

FLW's Charlton Athletic fan pundit issues comparison between Rob Apter and Thierry Small

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Thierry Small impressed for Charlton Athletic last season as they earned promotion to the Championship via the play-offs, coming out 1-0 victors against Leyton Orient.

The youngster was one of the Addicks' brightest sparks, operating on the right-hand side.

A switch that manager Nathan Jones made midway through the campaign, which led to a positive correlation between his new role and their results.

Small really kicked on in the second half of the season in the right wing-back position as it unlocked his hidden attacking ability, giving him a real license to get forward on the break.

Despite achieving promotion from League One last year, this wasn't enough to keep Small at the Valley and instead opted to make the move up north to Preston on a four-year deal.

With a void left to be filled, Jones turned to another young talent, Rob Apter from Blackpool.

After making a keen impression over the past season with the Tangerines and League Two outfit, Tranmere, Apter has certainly been a suitable replacement for the outgoing Small as he has made an impact at both ends of the pitch.

Rob Apter and Thierry Small have two different styles of play

After scoring 20 goals and providing nine assists in 82 EFL appearances over the last two seasons, Apter has continued where he left off this season, playing a vital role in each of Charlton's opening four Championship fixtures, including netting the equaliser in their eventual loss to QPR prior to the international break.

When comparing Small to the newly introduced Apter, Football League World's Charlton Athletic fan pundit, Sam White believes that both players possess different qualities and can't split the two.

"It's hard to say whether Rob Apter is an upgrade on Thierry Small."

"Thierry [Small] was kind of all out attacking and had a bit more of a defensive ability, but in terms of his attacking ability, he was less potent at the team game of crossing and getting others into play. Whereas, Rob Apter has limited defensive skills which is obviously going to be growing, but he's so much better going forward and has better crossing ability, probably better shooting ability, and he's more of a threat going forward."

"So I would probably say 50/50 on the question of whether he's [Apter] an upgrade."

Rob Apter and Thierry Small are two for the future

With both Apter and Small being so young, at the ages of 22 and 21 respectively, their future looks bright for the pair, who are gaining vital experience in the second tier.

Nathan Jones has pieced together a very youthful squad down in southeast London with the Addicks having an average age in their squad of 25.3 years old. His heavy reliance on youth over experience has been seemingly faultless due to where the club find themselves now.

By fostering a squad with high morale that has the potential to keep improving in the Red and White of Charlton, can certainly excite Addicks fans. FLW's Charlton Athletic fan pundit, Sam, said:

"I think Rob Apter has probably got more potential for the squad bringing other players in than Thierry Small, but obviously, Thierry Small is just that little bit younger.