Luke Ayling

Diego

Diego

Well-known member
I have nothing but respect for this guy.

When he was at Leeds I couldn’t stand him. Since he’s been here he’s been a breath of fresh air and offers, quality, enthusiasm, passion, sh1thousery and a love of the game.
Not to mention a winners mentality.

He would be a solid foundation to build on this summer in regards to recruitment, get him signed on the dotted line.

Quality yet again last night against a very tricky customer.
 
He's certainly improved from a disappointing start but having two 32 year old right backs in the squad makes no sense to me unless we have someone waiting in the reserves who can step up. He'd also need to be willing to accept £10k/wk to fit into our pay structure, is that something he would do as presumably he could get more elsewhere?
 
Diego said:
I have nothing but respect for this guy.

When he was at Leeds I couldn’t stand him. Since he’s been here he’s been a breath of fresh air and offers, quality, enthusiasm, passion, sh1thousery and a love of the game.
Not to mention a winners mentality.

He would be a solid foundation to build on this summer in regards to recruitment, get him signed on the dotted line.

Quality yet again last night against a very tricky customer.
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Agree i just thought he was a narky fooker at leeds but been massively surprised by his quality on the ball. I would definitely sign he seems to be enjoying it here as well
 
gravy173 said:
He's certainly improved from a disappointing start but having two 32 year old right backs in the squad makes no sense to me unless we have someone waiting in the reserves who can step up. He'd also need to be willing to accept £10k/wk to fit into our pay structure, is that something he would do as presumably he could get more elsewhere?
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I am a big fan of Smith and have always defended him and praised him on here but Ayling offers an awful lot more. I would be happy with Ayling starting and Smith as back up or if we can maybe Loan out or sell Smith for his final year and sign Ayling and a Younger Right back. At 32 i think we could find a way to make a deal with Ayling work financially. Don't see that being a problem. Lives in Wetherby too, so good location for him. Makes sense.
 
Bamford mentions him a fair bit in the BBC My mates a footballer" podcast. He sounds like a proper dressing room leader.

The podcast is well worth a listen if you haven't, Joe Wilkinson and Patrick Bamford talking football whilst Joe tries to be come Paddy's best mate. Plenty of behind the scenes talk about Leeds and Boro.
 
Vzzzbx said:
Bamford mentions him a fair bit in the BBC My mates a footballer" podcast. He sounds like a proper dressing room leader.

The podcast is well worth a listen if you haven't, Joe Wilkinson and Patrick Bamford talking football whilst Joe tries to be come Paddy's best mate. Plenty of behind the scenes talk about Leeds and Boro.
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yeah he loves 'Bill'.

Mentions him nearly every episode
 
Thought he was a decent stop gap signing in January.

Very, very disappointed in February.

March, he changed my mind. Happy if he was offered a 1 year deal next season.

April, even happier so if he's offered a one year deal + option of further year.......

👍
 
h_m_boro said:
Thought he was a decent stop gap signing in January.

Very, very disappointed in February.

March, he changed my mind. Happy if he was offered a 1 year deal next season.

April, even happier so if he's offered a one year deal + option of further year.......

👍
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yep seems like its just took him a bit of time to get upto speed. Which is understandable considering he barely played for Leeds this season. He's been top for weeks now though.

Not sure what much more fans expect from a RB if there is still doubters now.
 
Much better going forward than I had realised, definitely help the younger lads develop too.
 
I'd definitely be offering him a contract.

Same as most people, hated him at Leeds, kind of falling in love with him at Boro.

See also: Mills, Danny
 
I wouldn’t be against us signing him on a 1 year deal although have the same issue as others have mentioned that we would be left with 2 aging right backs. If we had a younger right back plus Ayling or Smith I’d be much happier with that.

Surprised that people are surprised by his quality on the ball, he was a mainstay in the Bielsa side, you don’t play in that Bielsa side if you’re not good on the ball.
 
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Chappy112 said:
I wouldn’t be against us signing him on a 1 year deal although have the same issue as others have mentioned that we would be left with 2 aging right backs. If we had a younger right back plus Ayling or Smith I’d be much happier with that.

Surprised that people are surprised by his quality on the ball, he was a mainstay in the Bielsa side, you don’t play in that Bielsa side if you’re not good on the ball.
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I was more surprised by his disappointing start. Now we are seeing the player I expected.
Would also offer him a contract. I wouldn't even care if we went into next season with Ayling and Smith at 32 with the intention of finding a replacement in the next 12 months. Providing they are confident Smith can get fit again.
 
I don't think Smith has done anything wrong, but of the two, I'd say Ayling definitely offers more going forwards.
We'd also be relying on Smith coming back from a very serious injury at 32 years old without any issue.

I'd be tempted to offer Ayling a two year deal, sell Dijksteel, sign a young promising right back with a view to him being the long term option and loan out Smith for the remainder of his contract.

Feels a bit harsh on Smith, but I don't think it would be the worst idea.
 
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Not sure why everyone is focusing on the age of Smith & Ayling really.

If it's because they think they'll get injured then look at the youngsters like Hackney, McGree or Forss, none of them are ever presents.

If it's because you dont think they can put in a full season week in and week out, then look at Howson

Look at the actual individuals rather than what year they were born in. I'd be delighted if we signed Ayling, he'll be cheap(ish) and will fit right in.
 
Juninhoburger said:
I'd definitely be offering him a contract.

Same as most people, hated him at Leeds, kind of falling in love with him at Boro.

See also: Mills, Danny
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You said you’d never heard of him before we signed him. Haha I knew that was a lie
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
Not sure why everyone is focusing on the age of Smith & Ayling really.

If it's because they think they'll get injured then look at the youngsters like Hackney, McGree or Forss, none of them are ever presents.

If it's because you dont think they can put in a full season week in and week out, then look at Howson

Look at the actual individuals rather than what year they were born in. I'd be delighted if we signed Ayling, he'll be cheap(ish) and will fit right in.
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Smith has just spent an entire season injured and he was already struggling for form at the end of last season and the start of this. I think it's fair to be concerned about those 2 being the only right backs at the club.
 
If he were an injury prone 32 yr old, stay clear. But he looks fit, healthy and as important is seemingly enjoying life at Boro.

Have to remember we have a lot of young players, and having experienced leaders on the pitch/dressing room is never a bad thing.

Keep him, makes sense👍
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
Not sure why everyone is focusing on the age of Smith & Ayling really.

If it's because they think they'll get injured then look at the youngsters like Hackney, McGree or Forss, none of them are ever presents.

If it's because you dont think they can put in a full season week in and week out, then look at Howson

Look at the actual individuals rather than what year they were born in. I'd be delighted if we signed Ayling, he'll be cheap(ish) and will fit right in.
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I agree with this.

Ayling has shown through his career that he's been pretty robust and stays fit. I wouldn't think he's going to suddenly drop to bits at 32.
He's twice played every league match in the season.

20/21 he played every Premier League game for Leeds and only missed 20 mins of football.

14/15 he played every League 1 game for Bristol City missing 59 minutes of football.

There won't be many outfield players who have done that I wouldn't have thought.
 
gravy173 said:
He's certainly improved from a disappointing start but having two 32 year old right backs in the squad makes no sense to me unless we have someone waiting in the reserves who can step up. He'd also need to be willing to accept £10k/wk to fit into our pay structure, is that something he would do as presumably he could get more elsewhere?
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Depends what wages they're on though surely?

If they're both good enough and we can't find someone just as good or better who is younger what difference does their age make really? They aren't going to cost us a fee. So it's only if they're after a big salary that'd be the problem.

32 is nothing for most pros these days. Unless they've had injury issues or not looked after themselves properly, they should still be not far off their peak at that age.
 
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