Luke Ayling is committing to the bit - Square Ball 19/9/23
STILL BILL
Written by: Rob Conlon
The definition of Luke Ayling has changed at Leeds United
over the years. Bill used to be a totem of everything great about the Marcelo
Bielsa years. These days, at least on certain sections of the internet, his
name is a shorthand for everything Leeds was meant to have moved on from,
ignoring the fact he’s always been low on our list of problems. It’s no wonder,
then, that when Bill was the first player to get off the team bus at the Den,
he looked delighted to be greeted by shouts of, “Get a fackin’ haircut! What’s
that on yoor ‘ed, Ayling?” The perception of Luke Ayling might be changing in
Leeds, but back in Bermondsey it was a relief for him to discover he’s still
the same old prick with a ponytail.
The Millwall welcome you would expect. #lufc pic.twitter.com/8hBCbvXgxT
— Beren Cross (@BerenCross) September 17, 2023
As one of Bill’s biggest fanboys, it’s painful watching
those moments when he’s chasing back after a lost youth. Sure, his legs
sometimes fail to compute his brain’s instructions and stop working. Yes, he
occasionally looks like a pensioner stumbling out of a pub on a Sunday
lunchtime. But it’s not his fault he’s still better than Rasmus Kristensen and
Cody Drameh. Even when his legs malfunctioned during the panic of an aborted
Ayling flop at the Den, he had the nous to keep his hands out of the way, courage
to stick his head where it might get kicked by a Bermondsey boot, and spirit to
win a tackle and clear the ball while he was still getting up. It was a
slapstick start to the finest goal Leeds have scored in years. Daniel Farke
said it was so pretty you could put it in a book. No wonder Gary Rowett had to
ask the fourth official to explain it to him.
I loved Ayling at the weekend, genuinely admiring his
commitment to being as Luke Ayling as possible. He can’t be anybody else, not
that he’d ever try. He’s the hero to the anti-hero of Saturday Night and Sunday
Morning‘s Arthur Seaton: whatever people say I am or think I am, that’s what I
am. He started the game clumsily conceding a corner after being knocked over by
Pascal Struijk and later attempted an overhead kick with all the grace of my
grandad lowering himself into his favourite spot on the sofa. He also began the
moves that led to Leeds’ first and third goals, almost created another for Cree
Summerville with the type of first time pass over the defence that Farke wanted
to sign Nadiem Amiri for, and stopped Kevin Nisbet scoring at the back post with
a last-ditch header that left his opponent face down in the six-yard box.
After Ayling won a throw-in from Allan Campbell midway
through the first half and consoled the midfielder with an arm around the
shoulder and a few whispers in the ear, the pitchside microphones picked up the
pigeon squawk of angry cab drivers. Bill responded by winking to a teammate
with all the self-assurance of David Batty showing off to his mate Macca while
tormenting Sampdoria in the Makita Tournament. Right on cue, the away end
started singing Luke Ayling’s name.