OPINION
Leeds United flyer Ezgjan Alioski must reveal in the plaudits following the 2-1 win over Rotherham on Saturday as he is often made the scapegoat when things go wrong.
Phil Thompson who was covering the Leeds game for Sky Sports on Saturday appeared to be blown away by how the 26-year-old constantly kept running forward to help his side get all three points against Rotherham.
“They still attack as the full-backs really push on strong particularly Alioski down that left-hand side as he gets forward even if later on he didn’t sit back , my goodness he was still attacking in even the 86th minute, he still found himself forward,” said the Sky Sports pundit (Sky Sports News, Saturday January 26th, 17:17).
Alioski was deployed in the position of left-wing back, like he has in recent weeks, and continued to be a reliable presence at the back as well as someone who causes defences to scramble when he runs at them.
Ahead of Marcelo Bielsa moving the Leeds player from midfield into his defence, it’s fair to say that he wasn’t a loved figure amongst supporters at Elland Road as the majority of his performances were questionable.
Alioski always appeared to have a lot of pace to burn but not the ability to make the most of it as his crosses would regularly miss their mark or his decision making would leave you pulling your hair out.
Yet since being deployed as a left-wing back, the 26-year-old can be counted on to deliver the goods and this once again was the case on Saturday against Rotherham.
While hopefully Alioski’s transformation regarding his form is here to stay, you can never be sure as Bielsa may need to shuffle his team around with games continuing to come thick and fast until the end of the season.
Given this and when you consider that he regularly used to be draped in criticism, and still is to some degree despite his clear improvement, Alioski must make the must of plaudits from the likes of Thompson being directed at him as it’s the least he deserves.