ah remember the days when we had the midfield trio of Muscat, Lia, Brown - they weren't pretty but they did the job. Piney puts it so well.
A Lia-Brown-Muscat triumvirate doesn’t conjure images of eye-catching skills, mazy dribbling and defence-splitting passes. What it does bring to mind – and what it consistently delivered – was a trio of players who knew exactly what was required of them to allow their team to achieve success. If the midfield is the engine room of a football side it needs players who will remain mobile, competitive and industrious for ninety minutes. As a team within a team, these three allowed Paul Ifill to wreak havoc in the attacking third, safe in the knowledge that if he lost the ball, there was a three-man wall behind him ready to stifle any would-be counter-attacks, regain possession of the football and give it back to him.
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/wellingtonphoenix/news-display/Vince-Lia-Plays-100/58492