Through injury, Brighton now know just how good Adam Webster is

There were still 15 minutes left of Brighton & Hove Albion’s 1-1 draw with Burnley when Adam Webster finally succumbed to the injury that had been troubling him for a fair bit of the second half.

Webster limped off and nobody thought much of it. The problem certainly did not look serious and in any case, Brighton have so many centre backs that Graham Potter had started five in one match earlier in the campaign. The Albion could handle Webster’s absence for a game or two… or so we thought.

What we have learned in the intervening three weeks is that Webster is far from just another centre back. He is vital to Brighton’s hopes of remaining in the Premier League.

The betting exchanges/#fulllists remain confident that Albion will be a top flight club still in 2021-22, but there is no doubting that the Seagulls’ form has collapsed without Webster.

Webster’s length of his absence has been part of the problem. Potter said post-Burnley that the medical team only expected Webster to miss the FA Cup fifth round trip to Leicester City three days later and perhaps Aston Villa at home four days on from that.

Unfortunately, it appears as though the ghost of Harold Shipman has started haunting the treatment room at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre again.

From a few days out, Webster is now not expected back until after the international break at the end of March, over seven weeks since the trip to Turf Moor.

Webster is not the first absentee that Potter has had to cope with. Tariq Lamptey has missed the past 12 weeks and Solly March will not play again this season after having surgery on a serious knee problem.

Leandro Trossard has endured a stop-start campaign, Davy Propper has barely featured and Alexis Mac Allister has been absent at various points through a combination of injury and illness.

Brighton though have a very strong squad. They won at The Leeds United with Yves Bissouma only on the bench following suspension and beat reigning champions Liverpool at Anfield without Mac Allister. Of the Seagulls’ five Premier League victories this season, Lamptey has missed three.

The only injury that seems to have had a damaging and noticeable impact on results is Webster’s. With Adam Webster in the team, Brighton had won three of their previous four league games against opponents in the top half of the table, keeping a club record four consecutive top flight clean sheets in the process. A corner seemed to have been turned.

Without Webster, it is three defeats from four matches including pretty horrific losses against out-of-form Crystal Palace and a West Brom outfit who had previously won only once at the Hawthorns all season.

That song about putting up a parking lot talks about not knowing what you have got until it is gone. Most Brighton fans knew Adam Webster was good, but how many of us truly realised his importance until now when we have had to do without him?

With forward players who need 60 shots to score one goal and who have been misfiring all season, the Albion’s survival hopes would appear to rest upon keeping goals out at the other end.

Those victories over The Leeds United, Spurs and Liverpool were all by one goal to nil. If Brighton do not keep clean sheets, they do not win games as they cannot outscore opponents.

Where Brighton seem to be missing Adam Webster is in the leadership and organisation stakes. Lewis Dunk is by own his admission a quiet captain who prefers to lead by example rather than barking out instructions.

Brian Owen said earlier in the season that three Brighton players were noticeably louder than anyone else on the pitch in empty stadiums. Maty Ryan was one, Adam Lallana the second and Webster the third. This was one of the reasons why Webster was named as vice-captain to Dunk in October.

When people talk about Webster’s talents, it normally focusses on the Franz Beckenbauer-like way he steps out of defence with the ball at his feet. Suddenly, his leadership looks an equally important trait.

Take those two goals which Palace scored at the Amex as an example. The first came when Dan Burn was skinned and Ben White and Robert Sanchez both managed to get nutmegged by the same backheel.

The Eagles’ second arrived in the 94th minute; White should have done better in possession, Dunk was caught in no man’s land when the subsequent Palace cross came in and Burn left Christian Benteke completely free at the back post.

Had Webster been playing, would either of those goals have happened? A little communication could have prevented the farcical defending which led to Benteke’s winner.

You might say that Brighton’s defending in the first half of the season with Webster playing every week was suspect, but they still never managed to concede two goals from the only two touches their opponents mustered in the penalty area.

The one time Webster has been dropped by Potter this season came at Leicester City in December. As Webster watched on from the bench, Brighton were 3-0 down at half time having produced one of their worst 45 minutes of the season. Potter has not dared leave him out again.

At West Brom, Webster’s absence led Potter to abandon his back three in favour of a back four. It did not work. Brighton are a much better side playing with three central defenders, two of whom can move forward with the ball at their feet, and wing backs.

If no Webster means no 3-4-3 for the foreseeable future, then that is another reason to lament him being out – especially with Lamptey soon to return. Lamptey is much more effective as a wing back rather than a traditional right back.

What makes Webster’s new-found importance most impressive is that a year ago there was still a worthwhile debate to be had about who should be playing, him or Shane Duffy.

Webster had struggled at times with the step up from the Championship following his £18 million move from Bristol City, especially against target man-style forwards.

When Oliver McBurnie and David McGoldrick came to the Amex with Sheffield United, Webster spent most of the afternoon looking like a dog chasing its tail. His ability on the ball was obvious from day one, but there were plenty of questions about the defensive side of his game.

Potter though stuck with Webster and the faith was justified as Webster came through that tricky patch. His defending has improved no end and since project restart, he has hardly put a foot a wrong, leading to suggestions that he could be in line for an England call up. At 26-years-old, he still has scope for improvement.

Webster has been good this season. It is only since his injury that we have realised just how good. Brighton need him back and fast.