Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel declared himself ready, willing and able to drive some of his players to matches in a seven-seater – that's how grave the situation was as Stamford Bridge just a few months ago.
No top European club had a more tumultuous 2021-22 campaign than the Blues. Not even Barcelona!
The financial chaos caused by Roman Abramovich's removal as owner meant that there was a very real fear that the club might go under.
Chelsea survived, of course, and despite the colossal off-field distraction, Tuchel still managed to secure a third-place finish, thus securing Champions League football for another season.
Of course, for all of the problems created by Abramovich's enforced sale of the club because of his ties to the Kremlin, Tuchel remained in possession of a stellar squad.
Indeed, just a couple of months before Stamford Bridge was thrown into turmoil by sanctions imposed upon Abramovich after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chelsea had followed up their UEFA Super Cup success at the start of the season by winning the Club World Cup for the first time in their history.
The Blues could have easily added another couple of trophies, too, but they were beaten on penalties by Liverpool in both the final of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.
Some key players have since departed but Chelsea's new owners, a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, have been extremely active in the transfer market this summer.
Optimism, then, has returned to west London, particularly as it seems that more new players will arrive before the close of the transfer window...