Wellington should be replaced by Canberra...maybe Perth to:)

The Mariners drew 0-0 with the Phoenix in Wellington and again Wellington let the standard of the league down with their dire football display...and Perth are doing it tough as well...not least Canberra's Nikolai Topor-Stanley.

Karl Dodds, Richard Johnson, Vaughan Coveny, Shane Smeltz have to be the least inspiring quartet in the league, maybe any league.

Throw in a Troy Hearfield who is going backwards under Ricky Herbert and there is nothing to excite, never mind win in this Phoenix side. It's dire.

Lei Lei Gao has plenty of skill, so he was left on the bench. Nice one Ricky.

No pace, no width, and no ability to play football, to keep the ball, to build attacks.

The Phoenix are going down hill fast and they are supposed to better at home. Dire, just dire.

The Mariners have Mile Jedinak, Bradley Porter improving, Matty Osman, Sasho Petrovski, Matt Simon, Adrian Caceres and John Hutchison. Each player offers something for the Mariners and each enables Coach Lawrie McKinna to change things, tactics or style.

Even so the Mariners needed the brilliance of Mark Bosnich to save the day. A wonderful reflex save.

Perth may have got flogged today, 3-0 down at half-time but at least they play some football and can surely improve.

Although the second half performance was woeful. Confidence has gone. Players are not united. James Robinson is centre-midfield time and time again gave the ball away and the normally goalshy Queensland looked like World beaters.

Craig Moore even Matty Mackay scored and himself and Massimo Murdocho looked creative and inventive when they're not...at least not against a good team.

Reinaldo is back and looking good.

But Perth are woeful.

Unlike Wellington Perth have a team, not to win the thing but certainly to entertain, maybe win at home.

Dave Mitchell has placed so much faith on his new signings, and his squad but his defence is shockingly poor.

Move Nikolai Topor-Stanley into the Centre. Give him the leaders role. He's being wasted playing left-back even if the Socceroos demand it.

Forget it. He looks disinterested, unwilling to break forward. In the end he, David Tarka, and Stuart MacClaren were just kicking anything that moved. They were demoralised....and anyone who knows Topor-Stanley knows he's better than that.

Mitchell may have lost the group, certainly will lose the 8,000 fans...and we're only four games in.

They have the squad to get beyond the second bottom place but do they have the Coach and the commitment from the players.

Not at the moment the pride is gone.

The Mariners will feel they lost two points and lost further ground on Melbourne the leaders. Next week the two clash should be a great game.