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You wouldn't expect to see that at professional level but that's what I am seeing, and it's my preferred explanation for "Phoenix Syndrome". Why did Bonevacia's performance degrade? What is happening to Rossi? My answer is "dragged down to the existing level". It may be an optical illusion, but I'm not hearing arguments against it at the moment, just people telling me I'm dumb and wrong and should go away because I'm seeing it.
There is a difference between people telling you that you're wrong (many have) and telling you that you're dumb (nobody has).
Raising all sorts of theories is part of being a devoted fan, and the more devoted and loyal we are to the Nix the more heated the arguments we are having. No-one tells you that you "should go away" either and I for one certainly hope you don't. And raising wild and weird speculations is classic Yellow Fever - we all do this and then get shot down in flames about it, so there are no reasons for you to be defensive just because most seem to disagree with you on the point of "dragging down to the existing level".
Personally I disagree with your thought that Darije Kalezic has finally "seen the truth about the Nix" and is ready to pack up. I have no proof of that, and it seems unlikely. Coaching work at his level is hard to get so if he wanted his CV to look good he would not be taking it easy for the rest of the season, but rather the contrary. Turning the Nix around would give him good brownie points for future work at this level.
Another argument against your suggestion is that while Kalesic might not have known the Nix very well (actually I think he did, because he was one of the applicants when Ernie was employed), his top class assistant Rado Vidosic would have seen a lot of Nix over the years and clearly would have warned Darije about coming here, let alone wanting to come to work here himself. Rado is no fool.
Your other point about "culture of mediocrity" actually has some merit. I personally think that there are several players who would always aim to excel and do their best. Sigmund was one, and Krishna is another as is McGlinchey. Despite his limitations (age, lack of sufficient speed to correct a mistake) Dura is also an example of a committed player as is clearly Paracki, a newcomer. And equally it is true that if on a given gameday there are others on the field who simply have not sorted their shark together (Abbas against CCM is an example) then it is easy for others to take an easy way out and not chase a hopeless ball (Finkler is an example here). Conversely, on a good day even the loafers perform like Serie A players (like Finkler against Perth).
I would say there is something to do with (lack of) mental toughness in this team which makes them wilt under direct pressure, and this is probably across key positions. We have all seen that when challenged the team could not string a couple of passes accurately against CCM. We were slow, inaccurate and could not play our way out of defence, whereas Perth two weeks earlier was guilty of the same sin and we thumped them. They had a bad day against us and against Melbourne Victory later.
This issue of uneven performance and mental attitude has been discussed earlier and I am sure it is a topic that will be returning now and then, depending on which Phoenix turns up on a gameday.