Mark Brailsford on world cup Hyypia

It feels strange to be writing about the Albion in the midst of a fantastic world cup, but as there is a new manager in the Seagulls’ hotseat and the new fixture list to digest, there is much to ponder. There is a link, however tenuous, between the enthralling events in Brazil and the season to come for Albion fans: the comings and goings in the transfer market.

This is not to suggest that new boss, Sami Hyypia, has a shopping list full of world cup stars, more that there will be knock on effects for all championship clubs. Once the respective national teams are whittled back to the last two standing on July 13, the transfer merry-go-round will crank into gear. In turn, once the premier league teams sort themselves out, acquiring world cup players like Panini stickers, there’ll be some interesting bargains to be had as they offload some of their squad – either as permanent transfers or season loans.

“Tactical innovations tend to filter down to domestic leagues”

So, as Sami Hyypia gets his feet under the manager’s desk (note he is called ‘manager’ which is interesting) what will be his approach? In his press comments, Hyypia alluded to the fact that he has yet to flesh out his backroom staff appointments and it is interesting to note that Nathan Jones is now ‘first team coach’ which was Oscar’s title last year, so some welcome continuity seems to be part of the club’s thinking. Hyypia also pointedly referred to something that was obvious to all who watched last season’s battles, that the team, whilst good in possession, were not incisive enough in the transition to attack. That he seems to see this a cornerstone of his tactics is most encouraging. It will be music to the ears of some fans unimpressed by the recent tiki-taka football ethos of Poyet and Oscar Garcia.

Again, there is here a link to the ongoing world cup. Tactical innovations at tournament level tend to filter down to domestic leagues: witness the Spanish possession-based model that Albion have employed since Poyet arrived. But, with Spain’s period of dominance coming to a natural end, the tactical approach of the Dutch and German teams in particular may prove instructive and could be the next ‘big thing’ in evolution of football tactics.

The Germans, and certainly the Dutch, play a fluid and counter attacking front three with a solid yet mobile defence, something that Sami Hyypia seems to favour. So, whether Hyypia will take lessons from the world cup, or adapt his own methodology to the current squad will be interesting to see as the season gets under way in August. He may be Finnish, but his finishing school was Germany and they don’t do too badly.

Fixtures

A cursory glance at the fixtures tells me there may finally be a game at home on Boxing Day. (Yay!) This will surely excite fans starved of this wonderful festive pleasure. That Albion have been denied a Boxing Day match for so many years is mostly due to the difficulty of getting 27,000 people to and from the Amex when there is no train ‘service’ (if you can call a profiteering private company with no idea how to adapt to Albion match days, a ‘service’). Let’s hope that Mr Barber can sort this out, as moving this game will hack everyone right off.

There are some excellent London fixtures, mostly reachable, for a good away trip and they appear to be mostly Saturdays (subject to Sky mucking us about again). Thankfully, Sami Hyypia will have a match at home for the first game of the season against a team that may not be too daunting to play against. In fact, Hyypia’s playing career at Liverpool began against the same opponents, so perhaps there is an omen there for the superstitious. All in all, the fixtures list looks comforting for a change, as Albion fans start to feel at home in the company of clubs competing in the best second-tier league in football.