Hmm, hard to be diplomatic about the Jets' off-season. They have been pillaged by other clubs looking for their championship winning stars and will barely resemble the team which edged Central Coast 1-0 in the Grand Final. Gone are Mark Bridge, Andrew Durante and Stuart Musialik, three of the most influential players in that side. Denni and Jardel are no great loss, but the ins hardly inspire. Shaun Ontong and Kaz Patafta struggled to get games in their old A-League clubs, while Jason Naidovski and Antun Kovacic will be good back-ups. The addition of strike pair Jesper Hakansson and Edmundo Zura is very interesting. You get the feeling it will either be a spectacular success or a spectacular failure. I don't know if there are two many teams in the world which feature a Danish-Ecuadorian combination up front.

Pre-Season:
The Jets picked up two draws and a loss in the Pre-Season Cup, but to be fair they didn't have near to their full strength team. They drew with Perth and Adelaide and then went down 1-0 to Melbourne in their final game.

Improvements:
Like the Mariners, it's hard to find clear areas for improvement, but Joel Griffiths will enjoy having a bit more support than he did last year. James Holland is sure to be a better player, as is Song Jin-Hyung. Mario Jardel's stay was an abject failure, and van Egmond will hope that Zura is a better investment.

Concerns:
The loss of so many class players is a major worry for the Jets and they need some serious improvement from their second string players. Their local recruits are hardly a replacement for the likes of Bridge, Musialik and Durante, while the choice of an Ecuadorian striker as marquee has plenty of experts shaking their heads.

Key player:
Joel Griffiths. Indiscretions against linesmen aside, Griffiths had an outstanding season last year and was largely responsible for his side's championship win. He relished moving into more attacking positions last year and got excellent delivery from a classy midfield. Will he get that service this year or will he be forced to go and fetch the ball himself?

Up or down?
Down, and then down some more. The Jets' 2007-08 success was a fairytale and considering it was done without any contribution from a marquee player, it shows just how good Gary Van Egmond is as a coach. However, the quietly spoken Jets chief faces a massive task to get this squad back to those heights. It will be a rapid fall from grace for the Jets and fifth or sixth is the best they can hope for.