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Despite having to sit on the sidelines of the transfer window sandlot, the offseason has practically flown by, and the new preseason is just around the corner. Lower league teams all around England are back to work this week, and Chelsea are set to follow at some point this weekend as well, first with some fitness testing and then with the real thing. The first pre-season match, across the Irish Sea in Dublin on July 10, is just around the corner!
A lot has changed since the final whistle blew in Baku, Azerbaijan a little over a month ago, but perhaps the most significant, even beyond yet another managerial switch, has been the departure of a certain Eden Hazard. For seven years, he was practically synonymous with the club, and the main attacking force on the team. Without him, it feels like that start of a new era, which may not be immediately as successful as the one with him.
Some might disagree with that notion of course, including the players who remain at the club. In fact, here’s the man who always strikes the right note to get all Bobby McFerrin on us, Olivier Giroud.
“I feel good at Chelsea. A new coach will arrive, the timers reset. We lost our best player, but I do not worry.”
“There have been ups and downs this season with Chelsea. The main thing is to show your determination and your desire not to let go.”
-Olivier Giroud; Source: L’Equipe via Google Translate
Giroud has seen just about all there is to see in football, at both club and international level, and he certainly speaks with the weight of all that experience behind him.
Don’t worry, be happy.
(Or, you know, worry just a little bit because these are unprecedented times.)