By Tom Wardle
Leeds United don’t like our Dani Ayala, do they? In fact, most despise the Middlesbrough centre-back. Us Boro fans, on the other hand, have a gleaming smile on our face every time we see another one of those anti-Ayala tweets by a Leeds supporter and his most recent antics against them, too. It’s becoming a common theme, isn’t it!
First of all, let’s start by talking about the Spaniard himself. At times he can be frustrating, a man who is one of them players who seem to be guaranteed to miss at least a month of the season due to an injury of some kind. However, when fully fit, the 27-year-old is an impressive, dominant figure and arguably the best defender in the league.
His aerial ability compliments his neat footwork meaning his performances are usually of a very high and well-rounded standard, especially when you consider he is a defender. His Spanish roots provide him with an unerring possession-keeping, ball-playing calmness which many English defenders lack. However, his experiences in English academy football and the Football League have moulded him into a tall powerhouse of a centre-half who possesses the defensive discipline enforced by Aitor Karanka. He’s not just a ball-playing continental stereotype.
His defensive ability isn’t the only thing which has been a noted characteristic throughout his career, and especially since the Leeds game, however. Plenty of videos shared around by Leeds-based Twitter accounts showed our Spanish centre-back pushing and pulling opposition players, diving and play-acting, and trying to gain an advantage in every situation in any way possible.
The term used to describe this form of play is ‘shithousery’, and it is a term which has become increasingly popular in South Yorkshire and many other places since a certain Mr. Ayala found his way into English football. The antics that he and many other players of both foreign and domestic origin go through to gain an advantage can cast an entire fanbase into uproar and indignation, see Leeds as an example. Yet, those who support the player who is doing the ‘shithousing’ couldn’t feel anything further from such anger. They’re usually in a state of manic glee.
The benefits of Ayala’s antics can be absolutely huge. Whilst some may label this ‘style’ as cheating, it’s a skill which English players have struggled to utilise and/or counter over the years. Diving, pushing and pulling became popular in the Champions League, and have now found their way down to the Sky Bet Championship. In England, winning free kicks after a slightest touch is becoming increasingly common as the benefits of easing the pressure and quickly changing the phase of play begin to be realised.
English football is slowly becoming less and less of a contact sport; the chances are if you fall down in the area, it’s either going to be a free kick to the opposition or a penalty. Pushing and shoving is what Ayala loves, does and has mastered, and he can’t help himself. Boro fans may well have their hearts in their mouths when he does it, but he always seems to come out on the right side of the referee's decision. Maybe it’s his Spanish charm?
The negatives of having a player being a ‘shithouse’ to try and gain an advantage is the area of the pitch this is done in. As previously stated, Ayala pushes and pulls defenders in either box as he tries to rile up the opposition and gain an advantage. However, the referees have started to cotton on to these tactics and have started to penalise those who utilise it. Harry Kane being pushed and pulled every corner at the World Cup is when people have seen this tactic shown on the world's stage, however, the tactic didn’t work as every opponent will have hoped. England won numerous penalties after opponents tried to gain an advantage through ‘shithousery’.
After watching the World Cup, and how most of the antics that are usually labelled as ‘shithousery’ were brought to the attention of the referee to the detriment of the ‘shithouses’, I questioned whether we’d see it in the Championship given the risks that it creates. Yet we have, and it works.
But is it needed?
If Boro had a side full of their current British players without Ayala, the team would lack a side of the game which is seen as cheating, but can gain an advantage. English players tend to slide into a player they are up against a few minutes into the game to let their opponent know who they are and that they are there. You know, the Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter-type players. In many ways ‘shithousery’ is a similar way of letting the opposition know you are there but in a cleverer, less blatantly obvious way.
Whilst being a very dangerous tactic to employ in the modern game, the need and reward for it can be massive, especially when you are under pressure in a game. Simply falling over in the box can win a free kick, and stop pressure building. Ayala is the perfect centre-back to go alongside the aerial Flint and young Fry.
His presence in both boxes is massive, and with most other clubs in the Championship having a few players who are prepared to use this tactic, Boro need to have an element of bastardry to their game in order to compete. No supporter will accuse their own player of being a cheat, and would rather applaud them for risking a card for the badge on their chest. Boro’s man is a master of the tactic, and I’m sure we’ll have a few other clubs commenting on him come the end of the season.
Remember, it’s not cheating, it’s gaining an advantage. But only when Ayala does it!
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