The story of the underdog is a sporting yarn as old as time. From Leicester winning the Premier League in 2016 to a young Cassius Clay defeating the mighty Sonny Liston in 1964, the romantic notion of the underestimated and the overlooked defying the odds to ultimately triumph, is one that resonates with all of us, even, sometimes, transcending traditional rivalries. An underdog status can be applied in all walks of life, and the success that eventually comes smells sweeter and is shared and enjoyed by more people, because of the challenges that have had to be overcome.



You need look no further than last Saturday for the perfect example of an underdog enjoying their day in the sun and sharing it with those who have been there with them on the journey, and who have personally seen the challenges they have had to prevail over. There is a photo of Luke Ayling celebrating his goal in the 4-2 win against Wolves, which shows him post-Robbie Keane gymnastics and mid-gun-slinging. But the story is in the unadulterated joy in the faces of those behind him.

There are six Leeds players trailing in Luke Ayling’s wake, all laughing like a drain. No determined fist pumps or exhausted relief; just 100% hysterics. And you know that around the country and around the globe, anyone whose life has been touched by Luke Ayling will have been laughing like a drain too.

We remember how he preceded his famous volleyed goal against Huddersfield Town in March 2020 by scoring an identical goal in training the day before. The untamed glee on the faces of his teammates the next day as he “even got the ponytail out”, was incredulity that Ayling had repeated his spectacular exploits and had no doubt joked in the dressing room beforehand that he would do so. Those Leeds players at Molineux on March 18^th 2022 shared in another exultant moment as Ayling clinched a rollercoaster game in injury-time and enacted the prototype version of his comedy celebration. And those new signings who have joined the squad over the last 12 months will almost certainly have been reminded of that goal in the lead-up to this year’s March 18^th contest.

This explains the pure and wholesome elation on everyone’s faces as they chase after Ayling towards the same fans in the same part of the ground. They’ve probably heard about last year’s goal a thousand times; no more FOMO, now they’ve lived through it themselves. Max Wöber, Marc Roca, Brenden Aaronson, Willy Gnonto, all laughing like drains. On Instagram, watching on from the United States, Mateusz Klich posted his own tribute to Ayling’s goal, while you suspect other veterans of ‘Luke Ayling at Molineux: Act One’, the likes of Charlie Cresswell, Kalvin Phillips and even Nohan Kenneh (famously booked for his post-goal celebration at Molineux last season and left the club soon after having never made a first team appearance), were also sat watching the celebration on their phones, and were similarly laughing like drains at how Ayling’s acrobatic ability had barely developed in 12 months.

Leeds United never leaves you, and the same can be said for Luke Ayling. As acting captain we know that he is a presence and a lively, cajoling spirit in the dressing room, and while football is littered with ‘characters’, and that kind of effervescence is vital in getting a team energised for the ninety minutes ahead, there aren’t many characters like Luke Ayling.

His stooping header just after half-time last Saturday came at the end of a week in which he had openly promoted his personal difficulties via a widely-shared video on Sky Sports’ social channels. In this video Bill was open and honest about his stammer, how it had affected his childhood and how it was still affecting him today. As Leeds fans we have known about these challenges for a long time, but this video bravely exposed Ayling’s difficulties to a wider audience not necessarily aware of the everyday adversity he has had to face.

Add to this Ayling’s journey through football; rejected at an early age by Arsenal, and then doing the hard yards at Yeovil Town, treading water at Bristol City before being picked up by Leeds United. Even then, despite being an instant success in Garry Monk’s Play-Off-chasing team, Ayling won’t realistically have seen himself as more than an average Championship player, and in that sense, perhaps Ayling is the embodiment of the journey Leeds United went on under Marcelo Bielsa; continually raising the bar, kicking through the ceiling and defying the odds. In Leeds United’s ultimate underdog story, we triumphed, and Luke Ayling was front and centre of it.

Of course there are plenty of stories of EFL players making it in the Premier League; applying grit and determination, not being discouraged by adversity and working harder and being smarter, because they have to. But Ayling’s personal story offers a human side that is unique and engaging and wholesome. In addition, the one-year contract extension offered to Luke Ayling a month ago and his 2022/23 renaissance suggests we should borrow a phrase and employ it in a more favourable sense; Luke Ayling is quite literally living the dream.     

I was at Arsenal last season when Ayling was sent off for a rash challenge in the opening minutes and played no further part in a season that looked like it was running into a sandbank at full speed. I’ve never watched a TV replay of the incident because it felt at the time like it could be the last act of Luke Ayling as a Leeds United player, and I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready for it in any circumstances, and particularly not those. Regardless of survival last season, Bill’s indifferent form and the signing of Rasmus Kristensen in the summer still pointed towards the beginning of the end. And Luke Ayling has never felt like a ‘bit part’ player at Leeds United. Somehow, like the ravens flying away from the Tower of London, Leeds United should probably never be without him.

In the post-match interviews following the breathless 4-2 win at Wolves which was characteristically brimming with incident, Bill was asked about the various moments of controversy and he replied that he “didn’t care”. And those are the words of a footballer who doesn’t take life too seriously, but who has worked for everything, come a long way and is going to enjoy every moment.

How Ayling has re-established his status as our automatic number 2 this season, plus his inspirational back-to-back performances in the Manchester United double-header recently, have been a major success story in a season with a sparsity of cheer. And when many of the new arrivals at Leeds United have only experienced a traumatic period of underachievement so far, and have too-rarely seen Leeds United at its best, that’s where you need people like Luke Ayling; someone who has been there and done it and worn a ‘Champions 2020’ t-shirt on the Elland Road pitch.

And it’s why anyone who has been touched by Leeds United in their lives and has been engaged by the honest and heart-warming story of Luke Ayling, was laughing like a drain when he headed in that second goal and set off on another slapstick goal celebration. Because Luke Ayling continues to succeed, and we all love it when the underdog wins.