“We liked him for a long time – he’d had a bit of an indifferent year in terms of injuries and we’d heard it maybe wasn’t the best (at Ipswich) then in terms of sports science,” Johnson tells The Athletic.
“We felt to go with his ability he had some physical gains and, with a fresh pre-season, we really thought he was worth the purchase.
“I had a good friend that I played with at Ipswich, Cole Skuse. He was waxing lyrical about Webby and the way he trains.
“That’s a really good marker, from other players in football, because they see their attitude, the way they train.”
The change in philosophy from Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich to Johnson’s Bristol City for Webster bears similarities to the style shift at Brighton since Potter succeeded Chris Hughton after the 2018-19 season.
“Most important was the attitude and belief to carry the ball,” says Johnson. “That’s the way I wanted my centre-halves to play. Coming from Ipswich was a slightly different style. We accentuated it in terms of coming out from the back.”
https://theathletic.com/2010406/ [Post edited 25 Aug 2020 13:21]
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