Has coach Ernie Merrick got the right mix of players on the park?
Football, like numerous other codes, is about making a point ... or two ...
No matter what the coaching philosophy or whatever the rhetoric on developing a culture with the right pool of skills, the time comes when the end justifies the means.
Wellington Phoenix have made the best start to their A-League season but are they making the best use of their squad?
Their away game against now table-topping Adelaide United at Cooper's Stadium suggests otherwise following their 2-1 defeat on Saturday night.
If you are a Phoenix fan then it must have felt like watching a B grade movie, where the script becomes painfully obvious 15 minutes into the screening.
The visitors scored in the 14th minute from a counterattack when Adelaide failed to put the ball past Hastings-born Glen Moss at the other end.
The brilliance came from left winger Roy Krishna who received the ball inside his half, deftly beat one defender before skinning another to surge into the 18m box.
Unselfishly the Fiji international squared the ball to the feet of right wing Roly Bonevacia centimetres outside the top of the box to gift the Dutchman all the time in the world to score his first goal for the franchise.
Regrettably that's where the script becomes nauseously predictable.
Where do you start mapping Phoenix's flaws.
The midfield of Vance Lia, Albert Riera and Alejandro Rodriguez has a mind of its own, prodding and pushing the ball between themselves before needlessly coughing up whatever scant possession they had in trying to thread the ball through the rib of the park.
Generally, though, the team was guilty of pushing passes through peak-hour traffic.
Most players wore blinkers, failing to recognise the need to switch play across the field when space resembled an unwelcoming doormat.
When Phoenix players pushed a pass, teammates reacted after a red shirt had anticipated the move.
As for putting up shutters, you may well ask: "What defence?"
It was a shambles. In corners and free kicks, the yellow shirts were conspicuous in their inability to go up for high balls or simply shadow attackers during crosses.
When Nix coach Ernie Merrick, who has made progress since taking over from Ricki Herbert, sits down to watch video footage of the Adelaide aftermath, every defender should cringe seeing the equaliser in the 36th minute following the cornerkick.
Ditto the winner in four minutes of added time following a freekick. The defensive wall might as well be a line of pretty pansies at Cornwall Park, Hastings.
You can only give an opposition so many set-piece drills in a game before they find the net.
At times the Phoenix sat so deep that the hosts were able to relay the ball back to their goalkeeper before exploiting the flanks to re-launch waves of attack.
It seemed to be a mind-set of score a goal then defend against a side who boast an impeccable home record.
Adelaide are now unbeaten in 16 matches on the trot at home in the league or the cup while the Phoenix had won only one on the road in six outings - you can make that seven now.
Left back Josh Brindell-South, for all his agility and versatility, was bereft of ideas although he looked more like a midfielder in the 34th minute when he put Krishna into the box.
Yes, it was tricky with some rain but right back Manny Muscat should have done better.
What can we say of the oldest player on the field, Ben Sigmund, that hasn't already been written or said.
Is defence captain Andrew Durante's portfolio?
What's with Krishna, who has the propensity to turn something out of nothing, at the left upright in defence?
Anyone who has defended against Krishna will tell you he is a nightmare to mark so why are the Beefeaters dragging him to the posts?
Merrick has overlooked a man who has not only individual skills but vision, gifting him his first start on Saturday since round 24 last season.
It seems Krishna has been living off the crumbs on the table. His lateral pass to Burns in the box in the previous round's 1-0 win over the Sydney Wanderers as a substitute in the 80th minute prompted Merrick to start him in the face of Jeremy Brockie's poor form.
Striker Nathan Burns, who has scored four goals this season, wasn't in the game from his first touch in the seventh minute. His 72nd-minute substitution was painfully late.
Injuries, All Whites duties and the rub of the green on the road may be mitigating factors but a team's depth is a reflection on a coach's recruitment. Has Merrick got the right players and, if so, has he got the ideal mix on the park at any given time?
Only time will tell but slagging off refs isn't going to fix it.