This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Last week we stated on FFC that Luke Ayling needed to put in a shift against Sheffield Wednesday in order to preserve his first-team spot at Leeds United, and he absolutely delivered.
Ayling’s form
The defender had been under fire from a number of supporters recently due to his poor performances at right-back.
A list of concerns were raised about his lack of ability going forward as some fans criticised his crossing ability against Preston last week.
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It seemed as if Ayling’s place in the team was at risk, but he was given another run out against the Owls on Saturday in a different role, and he was mightily impressive.
How to best utilise him
Indeed, the full-back was utilised as a centre-half in Marcelo Bielsa’s 3-3-1-3 formation at Hillsborough this weekend, and he showed exactly what he offers the team.
Two tackles, one interception and three clearances were the main stats that highlighted an all-round brilliant defensive performance as Leeds kept a clean sheet against their Yorkshire rivals.
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In modern football, it’s easy to forget that an important part of a full-back’s role is defending as the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joshua Kimmich take all the plaudits for the incredible work they do going forward.
The Leeds man isn’t quite in that mould – his defensive work is what makes him such an important player as last term he averaged 2.2 tackles per game, compared to his 0.5 crosses.
These last two appearances have further proven that Ayling’s strengths currently lie in his defensive work rather than going forward, and that means that there is an obvious solution to the dilemma of how best to operate him.
Bielsa is a manager who likes to switch between having two or three centre-backs depending on how his opposition is lining up.
Using the 28-year-old as a centre-back when playing a back three is the obvious solution, but that isn’t to say that he should never be used in a back four.
When United come up against quality teams that will attack them and pen them back, Ayling may be the best choice as he offers more defensive cover.
However, against one of the poorer sides in the division, where Leeds are expected to dominate the ball, Stuart Dallas may be the better option due to what he offers in the attack – certainly at full-back.
Rotation and adapting to the opposition may be the key to cracking this conundrum for Bielsa.
