Albion 0, Blackpool 0

Albion have yet to climb into the top half of the Championship table this season.

That is unlikely to change unless they improve in the final third of the pitch.

A disappointing deadlock against a club in turmoil off the field, with only one point previously on it and only one side below them, highlighted where the Seagulls are falling short so far under Sami Hyypia.

A strong defensive record under-pinned the top six finishes with Gus Poyet and Oscar Garcia in charge.

Even with Hyypia's liking for the fullbacks playing higher than they did under the Uruguayan or the Spaniard, Albion have generally looked okay at the back.

Ten goals have been conceded in eight games, three of them in the cavalier defeat at Brentford where the back four was left exposed.

That is the same number as Derby in eighth, fewer than Blackburn in ninth and Reading in tenth.

Incidentally, for those who turned up at the Amex naively expecting a comfortable win, Blackpool have also only let in ten. The Seagulls are not the only team who have found them difficult to break down.

The difference is others, one way or another, have found an answer.

Albion's tally of eight goals, three of them contributed by defenders, is better only than the six sides below them.

Wolves in third and Sheffield Wednesday in sixth have also scored eight but they are mastering the art of low-scoring victories, the kind achieved by Wednesday at the Amex on the opening day of the season and regularly by the Seagulls under Oscar last season.

The problem is fashioning and taking chances. Albion dominated the stats, 14 shots and 14 corners compared to four and two at Blackpool.

They drew a blank as well though for the fourth time out of eight in the Championship, the only stat that really counts.

Albion's early season fashioning expert, Joao Teixeira, is currently experiencing the type of mini-dip in form familiar with young players more prone to inconsistency.

Of the other most obvious providers in the squad, Solly March will be laid up for a while with a stress fracture of the back.

Kazenga LuaLua demonstrated again his frustrating tendency to make an impact from the bench which is rarely repeated when he starts.

The gifted Paddy McCourt, promoted to the replacements and brought on in the late quest for a breakthrough, is not regarded as fit enough yet to do his talent justice in more than a cameo role.

The vertically challenged front three against Blackpool were all newcomers. Teixeira began on the right, with Sam Baldock through the middle and Adrian Colunga on the left.

Well before half-time Baldock was on the right, Colunga down the centre and Teixeira on the left. The system, like the search for a winning formula, is fluid. Teixeira, Colunga and Baldock, by his own admission a surprise choice as man-of-the-match, were all substituted in the final half-hour.

Albion looked at times what they are in forward areas, a group of strangers.

In one instance in the first half Baldock was already spinning away when Andrew Crofts played a pass into his feet.

There was a further example of players not on the same wavelength yet in the second half, when Baldock and Colunga occupied the same space and got in each other's way.

Hyypia said: "The team showed a good reaction in the second half. We had better urgency on the ball and off the ball. Defensively we were livelier as well but we didn't create many good chances to score.

"The problem was in the final third, as it has been a little bit in the other games as well. We'll try to work on things in the final third.

"I think generally we are not getting into positions for them (strikers) to score many goals. That's the main problem we need to address.

"The movement from the front three could be better as well."

It could have been so different if Colunga had scored inside the opening minute when clean through. The tamest of finishes by the Spaniard gave Joe Lewis the simplest of saves.

Albion improved after a low-key first half lacking in tempo and final pass precision but Lewis was still only genuinely tested by a volley and free-kick, both from Danny Holla, which he parried.

Although the pressure on Blackpool mounted, they survived six minutes of normal time and six minutes of stoppage time with ten men relatively unscathed after all three substitutes had been used and Belgian centre-half Jeffrey Rentmeister was helped off injured.

Hyypia felt mild booing at the final whistle would have been more justified at half-time.

The discontent would have been more intense if David Stockdale had not saved Albion from a smash-and-grab victory for Blackpool by smothering Ishmael Miller late-on after a slip by Bruno.

Hyypia took calm but determined exception in a prolonged exchange during his post-match press conference with a particularly spikey inquisitor, who suggested it should have been an easy game.

There is no such thing in the Championship. Ask Norwich, 2-0 down at home to Birmingham - the worst side I have seen this season - before clawing back a point.

There is probably no such thing as a honeymoon period nowadays for managers either. As far as the impatient are concerned that is over already for Hyypia.