The playing resources Ricki Herbert now finds at his disposal are an illustration of just how far Wellington Phoenix have come. The club is now in a situation where genuinely good footballers aren't able to make the starting XI.
A fit and available Ben Sigmund was always one of the first names on Herbert's team-sheet. Now, after sitting out a three-game suspension, he finds that Jon McKain has slotted in so seamlessly and effectively alongside Andrew Durante that he can't get back in the team.
Adrian Caceres was man of the match on New Year's Eve against the Mariners, but had to make way for Eugene Dadi. And after Saturday's night's heroics against Roar, you certainly can't drop him.
Daniel's been excellent, starting 14 of 15 matches from rounds five to nineteen, but now, after overcoming a slight niggle, he's struggling to make the matchday 15.
And Chris Greenacre, who is apparently close to full fitness again after six weeks on the sidelines, presents an extremely compelling case for inclusion, particularly as a strike partner for Dadi. If Greenacre does come back in, who drops out? Muscat? Lia? Hearfield? Bertos even?
Just the fact that there are players like these not making the starting side shows how strong the squad has become and how tough the competition for places now is. Compare this to the first two seasons of this club's life when there were players on display practically every week who were among the more ordinary and uninspiring in the league.
Yes, Herbert had Shane Smeltz and Glen Moss for his first two seasons in charge, both A-League standouts in their positions. But between their respective ends of the pitch, he often had to cobble sides together, particularly in season one, which were worlds away from those that run out with the Phoenix badge on these days.
Some players, like Royce Brownlie and the Brazilian George, were quickly found out and made just a handful of appearances. But others racked up numbers that are scarcely believable.
Ahmad Elrich somehow managed 13 extremely underwhelming matches. Jeremy Christie played 26 times. Even Adam Kwasnik featured in over half of the games last year, despite failing to impress in any of them.
Defensive lines containing Stephen Old, Stephen O'Dor and Cleberson must have had opposition strikers licking their lips in - as it turned out - quite justified anticipation. And then there's Michael Ferrante, who can't get near the matchday squad now, let alone the playing XI. Yet he played in 37 of Phoenix's 42 matches in seasons one and two - a stark demonstration of the limited options open to Herbert in his first two years in charge.
This is not to denigrate Ferrante. He was a tireless worker in Phoenix colours but was never one of the standout players in the A-League - not even close. Today, there'd be half a dozen Phoenix players who could stake a claim if a 23-man "All-Star" A-League squad were to be named.
And, with Dadi's spectacular arrival, and the excellent form of many, many others, there are at least 15 players with genuine claims for a starting spot. Ask ten Phoenix fans to name their best eleven and you'd likely get ten different answers, such are the options now available.
Competition like that is healthy and with the playoffs looming, it's come just at the right time.
