Ayling is in control - The Square Ball 9/2/23
CELEBRATING MOMENTS
Written by: Rob Conlon
After Alejandro Garnacho created the winning goal in the
Manchester derby last month, Scum boss Erik Ten Hag said of the teenager, “He
has a skill that I don’t see many players having.” Ten Hag continued to praise,
listing everything Garnacho has recently learned — how to play in a team, how
to live, how to do the right things through the week, how to have the right
attitude at training, how to be a team player with individual skills. Ten Hag
was so effusive you could be forgiven for thinking he was talking about Wilf
Gnonto.
Leeds’ visit to Old Trafford pitted the young pup Garnacho
against old dog Luke Ayling. If Ayling is an old dog, he’s not meant to learn
any new tricks, but he still has a few things to teach Garnacho. Following the
match, the winger who puts the fringe in fringe player posted two photos of
himself looking frustrated to Instagram, with the caption: ‘When you don’t
understand what is happening, remember that God is in control. I trust the plan
you have for me.’ Who knew that the deity Garnacho chooses to worship is Bill
Ayling?
Ayling’s performance won’t make his Leeds United highlight
reel, but after months of the defence being consistently exposed, particularly
at full-back, there was a thrill in Bill devoting himself to basics. When
Garnacho got the ball, Ayling was there to tackle him. When Garnacho threatened
to dribble, Ayling was there to kick him. When Garnacho resorted to diving,
Ayling was there to show him how it’s done, relieving pressure with an Ayling
Flop executed with such classical perfection I started applauding from the
other side of the Pennines. By the end of the match, he alone was responsible
for almost a quarter of the tackles made in the entire game.
Luke Ayling won 17 duels in tonight's match against Manchester United, the most by a Leeds United player in a league match for over four years. He also made 12 tackles, the most by a player in a Premier League game since December 2018. Thought he was exceptional. #lufc pic.twitter.com/kOe7bDSHJR
— Jonny Cooper (@JRCooper26) February 8, 2023
Ayling got to his feet after winning that flop free-kick
growling at his teammates in celebration. It was a match for the defence to
stick to Jesse Marsch’s principle of ‘celebrating moments’. Maxi Wober,
excellent again, kept pumping his fists every time he blocked a shot,
channelling the spirit of Jason Crowe by clearing one goal-bound effort off the
line. Ayling and Illan Meslier reprised Andy Hughes and Casper Ankergren’s
routine with a header back to the ‘keeper that had me momentarily gasping
before it was apparent they had everything under control all along.
Robin Koch could have been stronger for Marcus Rashford’s
header, and Ayling and Meslier will be rueing lapses in the build up to Jadon
Sancho’s equaliser, but all the backline — including Junior Firpo(!) — held
things together and played well. Under Marsch, Leeds had the unhappy
combination of having to work incredibly hard for what little rewards came
their way, while making things incredibly easy for the opposition to benefit.
Scum might have scored twice, but Leeds could get their kicks from making the
hosts feel as frustrated as we’ve been used to.
Brenden Aaronson embraced the January 3rd vibes, coming off
the bench and hitting the woodwork with a second-half free-kick like a teen
college drama Bob Snodgrass. A few minutes later, Ayling almost relived his own
recent history, shooting narrowly over from the same position as one of Leeds’
greatest wasted goals. The deja vu wasn’t lost on Bill, laughing at coming so
close to shooting through time and space into the top corner of summer 2021.
By the end of the match, Ayling was stumbling over his own
feet while defending a throw-in, moving with the grace of a drunk exhausted at
the end of a hard day’s graft under blazing sun in a beer garden. His future at
Leeds is undecided beyond this summer, when his contract expires, but he
remains priceless in the short-term. There’s a line of argument that Leeds
should be moving on from players like Ayling. For all its idealised logic, it
doesn’t match up with reality. Rasmus Kristensen is the Champions League
full-back signed to take his place. Cody Drameh is the exciting hot prospect
meant to be overtaking him. Neither was on the pitch at Old Trafford, and
neither name was booming out from the away end at full-time.
