We are three weeks into the new season and I am hopeful that the experiment with Pellegrino as our central attacking midfielder is over.  Adriano is a good player, I am not here to knock him as a professional player, however he is not the scheming mastermind type player the Mariners need in the number 10 role.

Maybe the Mariners supporters were spoiled last year with one of the best performing number 10s in the league and an unbelievable junior stand in.  Patricio Perez may have had his injury woes and suspension dramas last season, but the first three rounds of the season show he may be missed by the Mariners.  Add to this the current injury to Mustafa Amini and the delivery of quality ball to the Mariners strikers has been significantly restricted.

So is it really possible that the loss of one quality player in a single position from an almost otherwise unchanged line up could really cause this kind of starvation for the strikers.  Musti and Perez are both great players but Perez was not available for at least a third of the season and Musti was still learning his craft.  Given these facts, was it these guys that made all the difference? Well as I remember it other guys were often the heroes of last season.  Rose, Boijic, McGlinchy and Bozanic all had a massive role in the success last year.

So where are these guys this year?

Rose has shown momentary flashes of his old self in the first few games while that other three have not even shown this so far.  McGlinchy and Bozanic seem very reluctant to take players on and Boijc and Rose are far more reluctant to drive forward down the flanks.  I gave this some thought and tried to pay special attention last weekend and I could only come up with one real theory.  It does not seem possible that four top players could all have a form slump at the same time so the only explanation I see is a lack of confidence in the centre. 

I think that maybe these three guys have been burnt by either the situation or the coaching staff for getting caught out of position when the ball was turned over in the centre of the field.  Let’s face it Adriano has not had the best touch and passing game in the first three games this year.  If your central attacking force is not finding the passes and able to hold the ball when it is required would you really have the confidence to drive down the flanks?  Why run all the way down into the corner only to see attempted ball to you or a striker resulting in you having to haul your arse 60 metres back down field chasing the ball. 

What can the Mariners do about it?

The obvious answer for this is the return of Mustafa Amini.  But given his injury and lack of match fitness we can expect it will take a reasonable number of weeks for Musti to get back to full match fitness.  So what should the gaffer consider if or when Musti is removed or if he is unavailable again?  Well given the result last weekend and the performance of the team in the second half last week I personally think that Daniel McBreen maybe one of the most viable alternatives.  I know many think he is a questionable striker and at times has been found out with his shooting and lack of pace but the guy does seem to be able to measure a pass.  As well as having a good pass he also seems quite comfortable on the ball.  So would he be the worst option?

The other benefit of this position play will be to allow a slot for the most exciting strike player the Mariners have had in the first seven seasons.  Bernie Ibini-Isei is the most exciting striker I have seen the Mariners produce and seems to add so much energy to the team whenever he takes the field.  I don’t think there is any coincidence that the Mariners suddenly came to life in the last two matches when Bernie came off the bench.  This kid is just one of those people who have that infectious energy that spreads through the players whenever they are on the field.

The other player that could be a real revelation as a replacement in the central attacking midfield role is the Dutch Master Patrick Zwaanswijk.  He is the most comfortable player on the ball that the Mariners have.  He shows time again that he can hit a ball and drop it right onto the foot of the intended player at a distance of 40-50 metres.  Does he have the same accuracy and read of a short ball?  This guy has played as a defender at the top level in the Netherlands for many years, surly this should have given him enough insight into attacking football to turn it around the other way.  Would there be a better strategist available than the man who can destroy the attacking raid of any A-League offence.  Surly he is worth a try; can it be worse than Pellegrino?  

The one final touch to this shuffle is to replace the man that cost us the goal against Newcastle.  Brad Porter may have filled in ably for Wilko in the first two matches but his effort in the last match was so far below able.  Brad seemed to have a nervous start and as soon as he made his first error he seemed to lose his bottle and slip further and further into oblivion.  I do not think I have ever seen a player look more relieved to be substituted than Brad Porter on Sunday evening.  Please Wilko get over this fractured arm as soon as possible.  If Wiko is not ready then I really have to ask why Trent Sainsbury has not been given his chance to carry on where he left off last season is mystifying.  He could not be worse than Porter last weekend.