Luke Ayling

[Son of Fred]

1 hour ago, Big Red Rich said:

What's he worth now, £5m? More?

Another in a long line of dismal decisions made ny whoever is in charge of comings and goings. It's hardly like this is hindsight, perhaps like Bolasie was, Ayling played regularly and was a solid performer... 

Sometimes players just develop,that and maybe at a club that's the right fit for him at this stage of his career,with good coaching allowing him to blossom.

And playing in a better side,with better players!

[Major Isewater]

27 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

I was sad to see Freeman go. Like a lot of players here, I just don't feel they've had a fair chance under LJ - that's not to say they haven't had a fair chance to play with LJ as head coach - just I think some players aren't getting the chance to flourish under LJ's tenure owing to his tactics. 

Legal troubles not withstanding I'd have liked to have seen Tomlin under another manager, just as I'd have liked to have seen Ayling, Freeman, Gary O'Neil and many others. These are all players we know have proper quality, but we haven't really seen it under LJ. He's the common denominator, but sadly it appears that SL has backed the wrong horse. 

Basically you'd just like to see a different manager .

[palmerred]

Cunningham didn't go for free, he was on a wind up on Twitter (something he is known for) when he stated that. The fee he went for was around 400K with add ons, Preston's yearly report that season stated that. 

[Red-Robbo]

2 hours ago, JonDolman said:

Thought his positioning was poor on some goals conceded at the end of last season. He is class with the ball at his feet though, and maybe that's why they rate him so highly.

Exactly right. His swashbuckling runs forward were great,  but he was frequently caught out of position and his turn of speed didn’t allow him to get back to repair the damage. 

Thing is, he was still a fairly young player when he was with us. And like lots of young players, they learn and improve. 

[Fordy62]

13 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Basically you'd just like to see a different manager .

I suppose you could condense it like that. 

[ashton_fan]

We had some good years out of Ayling and made a profit on him so nothing to regret really. A player picks up baggage over time and he certainly had some here, by getting rid of that he's become a better player. We'll still get a slice of any future transfer so was good business for the club.

[swanker]

28 minutes ago, Robert the bruce said:

good coaching allowing him to blossom.

Good coaching? They must be fantastic, the bloke hasn't had a bad game up there. 

We just have the habit of letting decent players leave for next to nothing and buying players for millions who can't get into the team. 

[Offside]

55 minutes ago, Harry said:

Count me as 1. 

I was sad to see Freeman leave and commented on here at the time that our creativity dried up immediately after his departure. His goals and assists weren't there, which many judged him on, but he was involved in most good things we did / created. I was sorry to see him go. 

Likewise I always rated Ayling. I can never understand the reasoning behind offloading these two very talented footballers - particularly if we were looking to build a team of players 'comfortable' on the ball. 

Matthews, Little, Pisano are not upgrades on Ayling as a right back. 

Paterson, O'Dowda, Brownhill are not upgrades on Freeman as a winger. 

Completely agree. Freeman was frustrating at times but, as you say, he was better than what we have currently. Ayling sometimes looked suspect defensively but he was an excellent footballer.

[Shtanley]

I think Pisano looks outstanding personally. 

[BobBobSuperBob]

2 hours ago, palmerred said:

So Preston, Warnock and the Sun seem to think Greg Cunningham is the best Left Back outside the Prem.

Bet365 and Leeds state Ayling is.

Harry wanted Joe Bryan, apparently Boro and a prem team did as well.

Perhaps we are very good at producing brilliant left backs, but our coaches don't realise this.

However selling Cunningham (400K) and Ayling (750K) show that for all the good negotiations that Ashton and co have done, they have seriously been left with their pants down there. I know people will jump up with Ashton wasn't around when Cunningham went, but I'm sure I read he was helping us on a non contractual agreement that summer and he and Cotts fell out and Cotts didn't want him here, part of the reason Cotts ended up going.

*cough*

Ayling is a right back

*cough*

Same as he was here

[Unan]

SL pushed Ayling out didn't he? After Cheltenham gate, another master stroke 

[Rich_s]

Always a debatable decision letting him go  and Cheltenham was probably a perfect excuse for LJ letting him go. I wouldn't have minded quite so much if we strengthened on Ayling's position after his departure. Reflecting back to his arrival and signings made by Cotterill it got me thinking that how clear it was how Cotterill wanted to set his team up and the players he needed to achieve those aims. Thinking about the best half-dozen signings between Cotterill, Pemberton et al. and LJ I would say none of those were signed by Johnson. 

Anyway I don't want to deviate too much from the original point about Ayling except that it's symptomatic of the current running of the club.

 

Granted that Diedhiou, and Pisano still need time to be judged.

[BRISTOL86]

5 minutes ago, Rich_s said:

Always a debatable decision letting him go  and Cheltenham was probably a perfect excuse for LJ letting him go. I wouldn't have minded quite so much if we strengthened on Ayling's position after his departure. Reflecting back to his arrival and signings made by Cotterill it got me thinking that how clear it was how Cotterill wanted to set his team up and the players he needed to achieve those aims. Thinking about the best half-dozen signings between Cotterill, Pemberton et al. and LJ I would say none of those were signed by Johnson. 

Anyway I don't want to deviate too much from the original point about Ayling except that it's symptomatic of the current running of the club.

Wasn't Johnson's decision. 

[Rich_s]

1 minute ago, BRISTOL86 said:

Wasn't Johnson's decision. 

Do you know that for fact or just hearsay?

If it's fact then please explain. Regarding LJ signings are they actually SL signings?

[MarkRed!]

Luke Ayling was not good enough either with SC or LJ in the Championship. He would give the ball away, get caught out and his distribution was poor.  He was a liability defensively alongside Williams and Flint. OK he seems to have done very well at Leeds. Well done to him. We would never have got 5 million for him at the time because he was not pulling up any trees. I think it was a good decision to get rid given his performances and his behaviour. Leeds fans make me laugh, did Leeds not give Eric Cantona away to Man Utd (look how that ended up). Not sure why they are crowing about Ayling. With him they are still a Championship club and will be next year... move on...... 

[BobBobSuperBob]

27 minutes ago, BRISTOL86 said:

Wasn't Johnson's decision. 

 

22 minutes ago, Rich_s said:

Do you know that for fact or just hearsay?

If it's fact then please explain. Regarding LJ signings are they actually SL signings?

IIRC at the time LJ was quite open how he'd told LA , his game time would be limited ( or was that not LJs decision ? ) and thus LA had taken the opportunity to move when aleeds came in 

[Unan]

2 minutes ago, MarkRed! said:

Luke Ayling was not good enough either with SC or LJ in the Championship. He would give the ball away, get caught out and his distribution was poor.  He was a liability defensively alongside Williams and Flint. OK he seems to have done very well at Leeds. Well done to him. We would never have got 5 million for him at the time because he was not pulling up any trees. I think it was a good decision to get rid given his performances and his behaviour. Leeds fans make me laugh, did Leeds not give Eric Cantona away to Man Utd (look how that ended up). Not sure why they are crowing about Ayling. With him they are still a Championship club and will be next year... move on...... 

Mad what a good defensive coach can do, all specualation of course but our defence record & Cunningham improving makes you wonder.

[MarkRed!]

1 minute ago, Tammys Scan said:

Mad what a good defensive coach can do, all specualation of course but our defence record & Cunningham improving makes you wonder.

I don't disagree with you here but players always seem to be better when they leave or are out of the team. Fact is that Ayling was not doing it for us. He has improved Leeds. But that may just say what type of players they had there. He is obviously an improvement for them. Cunningham similarly at Preston. But lads, these two players are not playing for top rated teams are they.... perspective is needed. If Ayling/Cunningham were doing it for a premier league club I would be concerned. BUT they are not and are not likely to.  Same with Flint really.

Would Luke Ayling be an improvement to our team at the moment, I would say not. Same with Cunningham. We need forward options and our defence looks OK.

[BRISTOL86]

53 minutes ago, Rich_s said:

Do you know that for fact or just hearsay?

If it's fact then please explain. Regarding LJ signings are they actually SL signings?

Just going on what I heard from a source that has been fairly reliable in the past. SL was livid about Cheltenham and his days were numbered from there on in.

Obviously that would never be the official line from the club.

[City Ben]

I think a lot of this is about playing style and the "type" of player we have. It might just be that Ayling fits in to what Leeds want to do more than he fits in to how we want to play. I have no idea how Leeds play, but it could be that they give him incredibly strict instructions, which suit exactly what he's great at. He doesn't have to think. They tell him when he can go on his runs, and ensure the team is well drilled enough to provide cover for him so he doesn't get caught out. Maybe he's just in a system which allows him to flourish. If that's the case, then jolly good luck to him. 

I don't think that system is what we're aspiring to here. I think that LJ wants smart players, who can adapt to situations in games and make their own decisions rather than going back to their training each time they need to make a call. If you look at our signings, on the whole they seem to be pretty intelligent when compared to the average footballer. In the interviews I've seen with him, Ayling is probably towards the other end of that spectrum. It's entirely possible to think that someone's an awesome player, but regretfully decide that they don't fit at your club at the moment. 

Great footballers don't always look great, it's a team game and so much depends on the rest of the team as to how they play. That shouldn't really be too much of a surprise. 

[dereks no1]

Also it's worth considering that we thought Little and Moore would be better! Little over Ayling!! Ridiculous!

[pnefcok]

Cunningham is out until Christmas after landing badly on his knee on Tuesday, sadly.

Played an 18 year old 1st year pro from our academy at LB yesterday and he was great, thankfully.

[Lanterne Rouge]

9 minutes ago, pnefcok said:

Cunningham is out until Christmas after landing badly on his knee on Tuesday, sadly.

Played an 18 year old 1st year pro from our academy at LB yesterday and he was great, thankfully.

He`s not had the best of luck with injuries recently has he? Hasn`t he just come back from a long layoff last season (broken leg?)

[Leveller]

4 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

I was sad to see Freeman go. Like a lot of players here, I just don't feel they've had a fair chance under LJ - that's not to say they haven't had a fair chance to play with LJ as head coach - just I think some players aren't getting the chance to flourish under LJ's tenure owing to his tactics. 

Legal troubles not withstanding I'd have liked to have seen Tomlin under another manager, just as I'd have liked to have seen Ayling, Freeman, Gary O'Neil and many others. These are all players we know have proper quality, but we haven't really seen it under LJ. He's the common denominator, but sadly it appears that SL has backed the wrong horse. 

I liked Freeman and would have kept him, but I think it's beyond stretching things to suggest LJ didn't give him a chance.

 

[Nogbad the Bad]

5 hours ago, Harry said:

Count me as 1. 

I was sad to see Freeman leave and commented on here at the time that our creativity dried up immediately after his departure. His goals and assists weren't there, which many judged him on, but he was involved in most good things we did / created. I was sorry to see him go. 

Likewise I always rated Ayling. I can never understand the reasoning behind offloading these two very talented footballers - particularly if we were looking to build a team of players 'comfortable' on the ball. 

Matthews, Little, Pisano are not upgrades on Ayling as a right back. 

Paterson, O'Dowda, Brownhill are not upgrades on Freeman as a winger. 

Coudn't agree more.

I argued Freeman's case on here more times than I care to remember and was very disappointed when both him and Ayling left the club.

If it's true Ayling was moved on because of the Cheltenham incident then that's a truly pathetic over reaction from the club - talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

In light of the support given to the likes of Orr and Brooker for far greater misdemeanours it would be even more incomprehensible.

Both were clearly talented young players with their best still to come - 'improvers' who would flourish at this level in the right environment and under the right management. 

Both would still be in my City team and it's no surprise at all that both these players are proving their worth at Championship level away from AG.

 

 

[Fordy62]

20 minutes ago, Leveller said:

I liked Freeman and would have kept him, but I think it's beyond stretching things to suggest LJ didn't give him a chance.

 

No. I think you misunderstand!

Im saying that we judged Freeman as a championship under LJ. And not really under someone who knew their Onions. If it had been under someone who knew their tactics, we might have seen an altogether better player - possibly much like QPR are seeing now. 

[WolfOfWestStreet]

Letting Ayling go was terrible decision whoever it was that made it. 

Playing with better players and a better manager also helps.

[shelts]

Another LJ bashing thread . Ayling wasn't great for us . Couldn't defend , weak in the air. Great going forward and lovely hair . 

[Guest]

Daddy didn't like him..

[YorkshireSection]

At Bradford away, the game that secured our promotion to the Championship Luke came over to us fans and I grabbed by the chops and said "you lad are going to be a effing star, he said I love it here, I f uc king love it here. 

I was confident I'd seen a player that was not only talented send committed but had something special about him, I think for me his ease of bringing the ball from defence into attack impressed me but also the ease at which he did it was akin to a player destined to play at the highest level. 

He's also a very nice lad and whenever I'm forced down to Elland Rd with the the in-laws or to Leeds with family friend Paul Robinson, Luke is always at the forefront of discussion, I wish him all the best.