Is Hyypia the biggest problem at the club?

[Marty___Mcfly]

To me it looks like the overall setup at the club is the main issue. Players chosen and signed by a committee (usually in a panic) rather than allowing a manager to take ownership and build a team he believes in and takes responsibility for.

Plus those in charge don't seem to know what they want- is it sensible spending and FFP compliance above all else? If so the on pitch performances are likely to suffer. If they want to push for the Prem they need a plan that extends beyond the next few months to build a team and squad that can genuinely compete for the top two spots in the Championship.

Yes there is infrastructure in place with the stadium and training ground, but those things alone will not deliver success. Combine them with a crazy transfer policy, short termism and a focus on FFP and the recipe as a whole is a mess.

Hyypia has walked into this and isn't doing a great job. Blaming him for the club's woes however is probably letting those above him off very lightly, and is distracting from the bigger issues. It's the way football works, the manger is the fall guy, but I'm not sure a new manager every season or two is going to cover up the bigger problems for much longer.

When a small club has these sorts of problems it's probably easier to just remain faithful and take the good with the bad. The Albion however are almost touting themselves as a Prem club in waiting- £42 plus booking fee for a match day ticket is top league prices- so the level of ineptitude those running the club are showing is harder to accept...

#Rant

 

[Stumpy Tim]

To answer your question, the answer is Yes. He's the biggest problem

 

[Dick Head]

Whoopee! It's this thread again!

 

[spence]

Whoopee! It's this thread again!

My thoughts exactly. Plenty of other threads this could have gone in

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Even I know it's boring..

Ok- lets sack Hyypia and get in some new players in January who are either shit, or old, or both! Go Albion!!

 

[aolstudios]

To me it looks like the overall setup at the club is the main issue. Players chosen and signed by a committee (usually in a panic) rather than allowing a manager to take ownership and build a team he believes in and takes responsibility for.

Plus those in charge don't seem to know what they want- is it sensible spending and FFP compliance above all else? If so the on pitch performances are likely to suffer. If they want to push for the Prem they need a plan that extends beyond the next few months to build a team and squad that can genuinely compete for the top two spots in the Championship.

Yes there is infrastructure in place with the stadium and training ground, but those things alone will not deliver success. Combine them with a crazy transfer policy, short termism and a focus on FFP and the recipe as a whole is a mess.

Hyypia has walked into this and isn't doing a great job. Blaming him for the club's woes however is probably letting those above him off very lightly, and is distracting from the bigger issues. It's the way football works, the manger is the fall guy, but I'm not sure a new manager every season or two is going to cover up the bigger problems for much longer.

When a small club has these sorts of problems it's probably easier to just remain faithful and take the good with the bad. The Albion however are almost touting themselves as a Prem club in waiting- £42 plus booking fee for a match day ticket is top league prices- so the level of ineptitude those running the club are showing is harder to accept...

#Rant

Agree with every word (apart from 'not doing a great job' - he's doing an absolutely awful job), eloquently put.
He's not the underlying problem & sacking him won't come close to fixing things on its own

 

[Icy Gull]

Doesn't matter how good the players are if the manager's tactics are confusing and crap, so although there are other big problems Hyypia's lack of nous and ability to get his thoughts across to the players looks like the biggest problem to me.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I firmly believe that in more experienced managerial hands from the start of the season, this squad would be at least 8 points better off and we wouldn't be having this constant examination of internal club affairs. Most fans ( apart from the seriously deluded ) would have settled for somewhere between 14th and 9th this season and that is where we should be ( pretty close to Reading...not setting the world alight but nicking the odd win here and there to keep out of trouble )
We aren't because we are in the hands of an individual who is dull and lifeless. The secret of football is keeping players focussed. Keeping them on their toes, keeping them on edge and energised. Its alright Jones squawking till he is blue in the face but the ultimate respect is for the manager. You have to have a manager that players will run through brick walls for and love playing for. At the moment, he is a novice and not clever enough ( whether he will ever be is another matter ) He doesn't seem to know his best side or his best tactics. Its constant tinkering and experimentation, which is unsettling everybody and causing confusion amongst the players.
They may be paid the best part of 500k a season but these players need strong leadership. Without it, they quickly fall apart. The inherently lazy ones just get lazier and the more passionate ones start to get disillusioned with a system that clearly isn't working.
Hyypia is very largely the problem.

 

[Lifelong Supporter]

I firmly believe that in more experienced managerial hands from the start of the season, this squad would be at least 8 points better off and we wouldn't be having this constant examination of internal club affairs. Most fans ( apart from the seriously deluded ) would have settled for somewhere between 14th and 9th this season and that is where we should be ( pretty close to Reading...not setting the world alight but nicking the odd win here and there to keep out of trouble )
We aren't because we are in the hands of an individual who is dull and lifeless. The secret of football is keeping players focussed. Keeping them on their toes, keeping them on edge and energised. Its alright Jones squawking till he is blue in the face but the ultimate respect is for the manager. You have to have a manager that players will run through brick walls for and love playing for. At the moment, he is a novice and not clever enough ( whether he will ever be is another matter ) He doesn't seem to know his best side or his best tactics. Its constant tinkering and experimentation, which is unsettling everybody and causing confusion amongst the players.
They may be paid the best part of 500k a season but these players need strong leadership. Without it, they quickly fall apart. The inherently lazy ones just get lazier and the more passionate ones start to get disillusioned with a system that clearly isn't working.
Hyypia is very largely the problem.

I go for a good bit of this. I would not go as far as saying Sammi is dull and lifeless because by all accounts he is working very hard. What I do feel is missing is a bit of cleverness and indeed commonsense at times (ie the midfield v Derby was not) which is very much needed in this division which is so closely contested.

Right now though I see the biggest problem is the lack of a leader on the pitch. Somebody to play midfield, nothing fancy but somebody who can break up attacks, distribute decently and bring the others on the pitch together. Yes a Horton of the 70s.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I go for a good bit of this. I would not go as far as saying Sammi is dull and lifeless because by all accounts he is working very hard. What I do feel is missing is a bit of cleverness and indeed commonsense at times (ie the midfield v Derby was not) which is very much needed in this division which is so closely contested.

Right now though I see the biggest problem is the lack of a leader on the pitch. Somebody to play midfield, nothing fancy but somebody who can break up attacks, distribute decently and bring the others on the pitch together. Yes a Horton of the 70s.

By ' dull and lifeless ' I meant his personality. I know Finns are naturally taciturn ( I used to fall asleep listening to those F1 drivers being interviewed ) but i'm sorry, he is as dull as ditchwater and however hard he works, I don't think he is going to get too many players energised.
Agree about the midfielder. Horton or Case mk2 would be ideal.

 

[Barnham Seagull]

Hyypia is the immediate problem however there are underlying problems which need addressing.

Unfortunately getting a replacement for Hyppia may only happen if the underlying problems are sorted first.

This is the problem we have, can we see Bloom, Barbers & Burke accepting this?

 

[Southwest Seagull]

The OP is right, its very much a structural problem rather than an individual one.

Hyypia is not doing a great job with some pretty poor tools - who'd have thought it?

 

[Notters]

Pretty sure that most clubs operate this way, to be honest. The manager seems to be the problem.

 

[Lethargic]

Although I agree with you in general I do think the club have a plan ie they are depending on the academy to bring the next generation of "better players" through. The problem is - what is happening in the meantime, it will be several year until we see the academy benefits (no guarantees either) and that has resulted in this car crash of a season unless something changes we could be in for several season of regression.

Look at the current midfield - 3 inexperienced youngster who are now going backwards they are crying out for some leadership and for that we can blame both recruitment and manager.

 

[Lifelong Supporter]

By ' dull and lifeless ' I meant his personality. I know Finns are naturally taciturn ( I used to fall asleep listening to those F1 drivers being interviewed ) but i'm sorry, he is as dull as ditchwater and however hard he works, I don't think he is going to get too many players energised.
Agree about the midfielder. Horton or Case mk2 would be ideal.

Oh yes he is dull, just not lifeless !!!!

 

[Machiavelli]

By ' dull and lifeless ' I meant his personality. I know Finns are naturally taciturn ( I used to fall asleep listening to those F1 drivers being interviewed ) but i'm sorry, he is as dull as ditchwater and however hard he works, I don't think he is going to get too many players energised.
Agree about the midfielder. Horton or Case mk2 would be ideal.

Do you think he was dull and lifeless in his interview? If so, as the OP suggests, it's not just down to him is it?
I think that a lot of what the OP says is right. NSC has collectively turned against Hyypia, and the mods seem to have done so since their curry after the Fulham defeat (I'm sure I'll be corrected on this, but there does seem to be a collective change-of-message).
Hyypia is accused of being inflexible by some, and too flexible by others. He's made some strange decisions, most obviously, that midfield selection against Derby, but there are others that can be pointed to, such as taking both Colunga and Baldock off against Bournemouth soon after they'd both scored. I'd also point to his infatuation with selecting JFC, above both Holla and Ince. There are others too.
For the moment, he's our manager, and we need to get behind the team on Friday night. If we do that, and we don't get a win, then even I will have to revise my view.

 

[Rookie]

Look at the current midfield - 3 inexperienced youngster who are now going backwards they are crying out for some leadership and for that we can blame both recruitment and manager.

Is that not holla though? Very experienced in the Dutch top flight, was superb when he first arrived, dropped off, but now doesn't get a look in despite the current form.

 

[GT49er]

Is that not holla though? Very experienced in the Dutch top flight, was superb when he first arrived, dropped off, but now doesn't get a look in despite the current form.

....and that is as clear an indication as any that there is something seriously wrong at the club at the moment, when new players like Holla and Tex come in, look really impressive but within weeks are so sh1t they can't even get a place in a bottom three relegation fighting championship side.

That suggests Hyypia is part of the problem. The fact that the rest of the newbies never looked much good anyway suggests that he is not the only problem.

 

[dannyboy]

I go for a good bit of this. I would not go as far as saying Sammi is dull and lifeless because by all accounts he is working very hard. What I do feel is missing is a bit of cleverness and indeed commonsense at times (ie the midfield v Derby was not) which is very much needed in this division which is so closely contested.

Right now though I see the biggest problem is the lack of a leader on the pitch. Somebody to play midfield, nothing fancy but somebody who can break up attacks, distribute decently and bring the others on the pitch together. Yes a Horton of the 70s.

Wasn't that Danny Holla until hyypia turned him shit

Edit

Beaten to it . Very much like Adams Mark 2 we got players in who on paper looked good but in a couple weeks were as bad as the rest . The problem lies with hyypia

 

[aolstudios]

Is that not holla though? Very experienced in the Dutch top flight, was superb when he first arrived, dropped off, but now doesn't get a look in despite the current form.

Absolutely. To be benching Holla in favour of the players he's using at the moment indicates Sami is frankly either clueless, vindictive, bonkers or all three