Graham Potter's first pre-season at Chelsea will see his side make a return to the USA despite last season's disastrous trip under Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues played three games in the United States as part of their preparations for the 2022/23 season. They managed to win only one game, against Mexican side Club America, followed by a penalty shoot-out loss to Charlotte FC and a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in Orlando.
Tuchel did not hold back his frustration at the tour, slamming the organisation of the trip at the time. The build-up to the campaign came alongside Todd Boehly's first summer transfer window at the club that saw over ten players signed.
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"A lot of travelling, another time zone, a totally different feeling of temperature, high humidity, so very demanding for first training and the players are struggling with the heat," Tuchel told Chelsea's in-house media last summer.
"We give maybe more time and space to drink - more break - but we can't hide from the fact we're in pre-season and we have to, somehow, put kilometres into the legs. From this point, we don't adapt."
The German added: "It's not my favourite thing to do and in the long run, the focus has to be on coaching because that is why I am here. But at the moment of course my help is needed and wanted and is of course necessary that I step up and take the responsibility."
Tuchel left Chelsea not long afterward. After insisting he was not sure if his team would be ready for the start of the Premier League season, the now-Bayern Munich boss managed to win only three of his first six league games - losing to Leeds and Southampton.
Fast forward nearly a year later and this summer's trip will have had more planning time for Boehly and American-based co-owners Clearlake Capital to finalise plans to avoid another poor pre-season.
Since taking over, Potter has revealed that some of the experienced members of his squad were left unhappy with the trip last time out. "It's really tough," he said. "My quote a few weeks ago is that it's the toughest job in football and there are reasons for that. Speaking to a few of the experienced guys, they said it was the worst pre-season they've had.
"Organisationally, the tour didn't work as well as they'd like. I wasn't there so I can't say. We thought we made progress, but the first half against Southampton was below par. The sky can fall. These are some of the facts. Inconvenient facts, but that's the situation."
Unlike Tuchel, the US tour will provide Potter with the opportunity to implement his ideas ahead of a crucial period at the start of next season after a troubling campaign full of injuries. For Chelsea's sake, they will be hoping not to see a repeat of last summer.
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