Is Hyypia a reason for our problems?

Sadly I think the end is nigh for Sami. He has never been the quickest but he now has no pace whatsoever. For the team to defend well with Hyypia playing we need to defend deep. He is still dominant in the air and is very useful when defending set pieces and corners. He thrives when the playing style is defensive, for example in European away games. If Rafa wants to play a more attacking style then Sami does fit in those plans. As soon as we play higher up the pitch we see Sami getting caught out , he also gets drawn out to the wings and is unable to cope with one on one situations.

Sami established his reputation during the Houllier years when the team battled to win games by small margins whilst defending deep in numbers. I think Sami should remain part of our squad as his some of his attributes, notably his aerial ability, do not exist elsewhere within our squad. However I think it's time for him to be considered more of a backup player than a first teamer. The only snag is we don't have any other options at present due to our problems in the transfer market.
To become a real Premiership force and win more games we will need to find a pacy replacement sooner rather than later.
Please post your views.