Roy Krishna of the Phoenix evades Massimo Murdocca of Melbourne City during the round 17 A-League match between against Melbourne City FC. Photo / Getty Images
Opinion
The Wellington Phoenix have gone from being the flavour of the month to a team which desperately needs to rediscover its winning touch.
The international break for the A-league has led to a disaster results-wise with one point out of nine for coach Ernie Merrick's men since the action resumed.
While still well positioned in fourth place, chasing teams have closed the gap. Just as significantly, visions of last year's dismal run-in which turned them from playoff contenders into wooden spoon candidates will start to appear. I'm still very confident in the quality of this team, but here are a few fine-tuning suggestions.
More players need to get tougher around the field, instead of leaving it to Ben Sigmund, Andrew Durante and Albert Riera. Melbourne City's attitude to the latest game highlighted this - Melbourne came to stop Wellington playing and ended up with more bookings than the Vector Arena. Roy Krishna in particular needs to add more bite to his game.
Nathan Burns, perhaps the best striker in the league, is receiving most of his passes in wide positions, with defenders in front of him and not enough support. In the last three games, he has had to go looking for the ball and lost his effectiveness because the break appears to have robbed the midfield of its prowess and dominance. Michael McGlinchey needs to get more involved.
