Luke Ayling’s red card in Leeds United’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Arsenal was a ‘rash’ attempt to gee up the travelling support at the Emirates Stadium, former England international Danny Murphy tells talkSPORT (9th May, 11.30am).
He’s been there himself, Murphy.
“It takes me back to when emotion go the better of me,” the one-time Liverpool star recalls of his time as a budding youngster at Crewe Alexandra.
“It was in the old fourth division. I was right in front of the dugout and I tried to go through (an opposition player). I injured myself a bit. The manager said to me at half time ‘What did you do that for?’.
“I said; ‘I wanted to show him’. The manager said; ‘No, you wanted to show the crowd you’re a tough guy’.”
That lesson, Murphy admits, ‘stuck’ with him during a terrific career that took the midfielder right to the top of the game. And Ayling, even at 30 years of age, is not too late to learn.
Leeds were already 2-0 down with less than half an hour on the clock against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, a resurgent Eddie Nketiah scoring twice in quick succession against his old employers.
Luke Ayling red card hits Leeds United hard in Arsenal defeat
The last thing Jesse Marsch needed was to lose his captain for the day. One of his most experienced, reliable players and his only first-team right-back with three hugely important games remaining in Leeds’ battle against the drop.
Ayling’s straight red card – after an ill-judged two footed lunge on Gabriel Martinelli right in front of the travelling support – means he will play no part in Leeds final few weeks of a torturous campaign.
“It was a bizarre, rash decision,” Murphy says, using his own experiences to get into the mind of a player who will have woken up on Monday morning with a pang of regret deep in his stomach.
“I think if it wasn’t in front of the Leeds fans, he wouldn’t have done it. The Leeds fans are right there, they’re 2-0 down and he’s thinking; ‘I’ve got to show some commitment here. I tell you what I’m gonna do, I’m gonna clean him out, get the man and the ball and the fans are gonna go ‘We love him, he’s one of us’.”
“I think that shows a weak mentality.”
Can Jesse Marsch’s Leeds survive?
Leeds are now 18th in the table. Their final three games sees them go head-to-head with Chelsea, a Brighton side who battered Manchester United on Saturday and an in-form Brentford.
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If there is a silver lining on these admittedly dark clouds, however, it’s that Leeds never gave in against Arsenal, fighting to the end and even halving the deficit despite playing for an hour with ten men.
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