Sydney have raised the bar in terms of recruiting picking up four of the best players in the A-League in the off-season in John Aloisi, Mark Bridge, Simon Colosimo, and Stuart Musialik. John Kosmina has kept his focus local and does not have one international player on his book. It's an interesting approach. Of the outs, the big one is Mark Milligan.

Pre-Season:
The Pre-Season Cup proved an up and down affair for a largely undermanned Sydney side. They had a good win against Queensland but then lost 3-0 Central Coast and 3-2 to Wellington. Defence was a bit of an issue.

Improvements:
Consistency will be the key to Sydney this year, and it was what let them down last year. Stuart Musialik will be probably the best addition to the side, giving them the ability to control the game in the middle of the park. That will give them a better structure and more consistency, while Aloisi and Bridge will help then get the results

Concerns:
Kosmina has been criticised for having a Dad's Army, but to be fair, only Clint Bolton, Tony Popovic, Robbie Middleby, Steve Corica and Aloisi are over 30. Significantly, most of the players are down the spine of the pitch and that's a concern. The issue is attempting to fit all those big names on a field in a harmonious matter, and Aloisi trying to justify his reported 1.4 million a year package.

Key player:
Stuart Musialik. Highly-rated by everyone, Musialik comes from the Jets, where there were lower expectations, into the glamour club of the competition. The 23-year-old has a massive future ahead of him, but he must live up the hype and take control of a Sydney midfield with plenty of stars.

Up or down?
It's up or bust for Kosmina this year. He has been given the ingredients for a championship side and if he can get them all together, there is no doubt Sydney will be the competition yardstick. He has invested a lot in his 'local-only' philosophy and he will be in the firing line if his bevy of stars does not produce. Anything short of a championship will be considered a failure.