Part of the recipe for football's incredible popularity is the way that a summer break of buying and selling players and changing things around behind the scenes can convince any fanbase that things are set to improve in the season to come, no matter how badly the previous one ended. Chelsea are a perfect example right now. A big injection of hope can make all those intractable issues feel manageable again, and that is what the news about Xabi Alonso being appointed as the club's new manager has done.
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