Just How Good Are the Mariners?

After finishing runners-up to Sydney in the World Club Championships playoffs, annihilating Victory in the semi-final of the Pre-Season Cup (this competition needs a proper name!) and taking out Glory in the final, everyone wants to know if the Mariners are capable of winning the inaugural A-League title. We should also remember that the Mariners even have a win against Manchester United to their name, albeit in a shortened version of the game.

Lawrie McKinna has coyly declared that his team's chances are good, as good as any other team, including the glamour boys of Sydney. Incredibly, at the time of writing, his team is still considered a $12.00 medium-shot on TAB Sportsbet, giving a much better return than both Perth and Melbourne. Over at Sportal, Marc Fox has glowingly appraised the Mariners squad, but even he stops short of predicting they will finish in the top four and make the finals. Again, the Melbourne team soundly beaten by the Mariners is rated higher.

It's easy to understand why the Central Coasters are so often overlooked. They're a local or regional unit, not a big city team, there are few big names, they have less money than some of the other clubs, and so it goes. Clearly it's time to stop talking rubbish and pay respect to what has been done with the Mariners.

McKinna has recruited multi-positional talent that has proven experience at the NSL level. He has brought together a bunch of players that know each other's game, giving early season advantage over teams like the New Zealand Knights who are still getting to know each other's style and working on their best combinations. And they do actually have a healthy array of borderline "stars," with talented assets like Pondeljak, Mrdja, Beauchamp, Gumprecht, Spencer, Wilkinson and Crawley. It's difficult to imagine such a team inflicted with a savage multiple goal loss to, say, Adelaide United or Melbourne Victory.

The Hyundai A-League is going to be tight. As coaches have already said there will be a lot of drawn matches. The idea of one or two teams running away with the competition, leaving stragglers in their wake, is preposterous. That's great for football.

How good are the Mariners? Good enough to win it, for sure. Just like any of the other seven clubs.