Time to show what we can do. (Pxhere/CC)

It's time to put those demons of last season firmly in the closet. Forever.

After winning the Premier League in one of the most dominating fashions in recent memory during the 2014-15 season, it's still hard to grasp how much the mighty Blues fell last season. Chelsea suffered their worst season in two decades and that's putting it lightly. Waking up for the 5:30 morning games almost became a chore for me as we didn't just lose on a consistent basis - we looked dreadful, week in and week out. A far cry from the season before we ran over opponents, virtually with the same players too. It got so bad that halfway through the season, we finally axed one of the most coveted managers in the game, Jose Mourinho (widely known as The Special One).

Despite a disappointing season last year, I and many other Chelsea fans, remain optimistic that this season will mark our return to the top of the table. After all, form may be temporary, but class is permanent, and Chelsea certainly have world-class players that can return us to our rightful place among Europe's elite. But that being said, Chelsea will not compete in any European competitions this season for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Which certainly stings, but it will allow us to focus firmly on regaining our hold on England.

Maybe the chance to finally shred last years' demons is why I am as excited as I am for this season but I'm optimistic for other reasons too. Antonio Conte coming in to replace the ghost of Jose Mourinho is about as good of a replacement as I could have hoped for. Tactics that might finally suit our personnel is another. But at the end of the day, I truly believe we have the team to compete with the rest of England. An on-form Eden Hazard is the best player in England. New signing N'golo Kante will still be running ten minutes after the final whistle. And for better or worse, we still have virtually every key player from our title season a couple years ago.

After the second-coming of Jose Mourinho a few seasons ago, it almost seemed as though he was a Chelsea manager for life. But as seems to be customary these, the relationship only lasted a few seasons before blowing up in the most painful way imaginable - the sacking of a legend. In the aftermath, Guus Hiddink took the reigns as caretaker manager before Chelsea decided to appoint Antonio Conte as the full-time manager going forward.

Conte surely gained fans this past summer as Italy's energetic manager at Euro 2016. Taking a relatively aging Italy squad that was their worst team in memory, Conte managed to sculpt an Italian side that managed to quite unexpectedly knock off some of the top teams in Europe. Using an unorthodox 3-5-2 formation, Italy managed to shutdown top players and teams. I certainly was quite impressed with him as a result of this but it's hardly the first time he has impressed as a manager. Conte brought a struggling Juventus side to one of the top teams in Europe in only a matter of a couple of seasons using an unorthodox 4-2-4 formation. An above average player himself during his playing career, Conte is highly regarded for bringing unique tactics to every team he manages that suit each of the teams' strengths.

Diego Costa. Wikipedia Commons/Ben Sutherland (CC)

Chelsea returns one of the most-hated players in all of world soccer to lead to line, Diego Costa. My personnel thoughts on Diego? He can be so incredibly annoying and do some of the stupidest things on the field but at the end of the day, he's still our Diego. On form, he is one of the most clinical forwards in England. Often forgotten, Costa boasts the highest chance conversion ratio in all of England over the past couple of seasons (among consistent scorers). Provided he manages to keep his hamstrings healthy this year, Costa will probably be a force to contend with.

And after having a handful of dud strikers to complement Costa these past couple of seasons, Chelsea finally managed to get quality striker to match up with him by recruiting Belgian Michy Batshuayi. While Michy is quite young and I don't know know how I feel about him in a solo striker role, I think he is a good step forward and we will at last be able to have some depth at striker and will finally be able to try a 4-2-4/4-4-2 formation.

Eden Hazard. Wikipedia Commons/cfcunofficial (CC)

Once considered one of the apparent heirs to Messi and Ronaldo, Eden Hazard struggled mightily last season. After being Chelsea's Player of the Season for a few seasons running, it was a marked drop-off. But, a Hazard on form is one of the most dangerous players in the world and with a solid summer behind him, I am quite confident for him to return to form this season. Willian will likely be the player on the opposite flank of Hazard and was our player of the season this past season. But I have an uncommon view on Willian, as my opinion of him almost always goes against popular belief. I was one of the few to praise his move to England a few seasons ago, primarily because of his defensive quality, while most people were cynical about spending so much on a player from Ukraine's league. But while many people went gaga for him last year, I really didn't think he was good at all; he will have to improve markedly on the offensive side for him to warrant a starting spot in my book.

On the backup side of things, Pedro, Cuadrado, and Moses will all challenge for time. Pedro makes me feel ugh but I'm hopeful of some breakout performances from Moses. I'll also add I was a little disappointed to see youngster Bertrand Traore head out on loan to Ajax during past couple of days as I rate him quite highly and think he could challenge for time in our first-team.

N'golo Kante. Wikipedia Commons/soccer.ru (CC)

To put it bluntly, I think Chelsea made the signing of the season with N'golo Kante, mine and probably many Leicester City fans', Premier League player of the season last year. Chelsea was able to buy Kante for a very cheap price just a year after he moved to the Champions because he had a buyout clause in his contract. I have no idea why he personally wanted to make the move to Chelsea with all he had City but I won't argue with it because I think he will be a perfect fit for Chelsea. He is exactly my type of midfielder who never stops running and is always closing down people. A description of him would not give his style of play justice (you just have to see him play) but his former manager's quote to Kante describes him beautifully, "One day, I'm going to see you cross the ball, and then finish the cross with a header yourself." (Ranieri to Kante)

In other players, I still have faith for Matic to return to his form from a couple seasons ago. I think he still has a lot left in him and will complement Kante quite well. Fabregas and Oscar could offer quite a bit creatively from the midfield but it remains to be seen how much they will contribute defensively. Also hoping for Reuben Loftus-Cheek to get some time this season. I rate him quite highly and I am really hoping this is the year a youth player can break through to the first-team.

John Terry. Wikipedia Commons/Warrenfish (CC)

If we have a big uh-oh, it's in defense. It's a little hard to imagine after pure defense won us the Champions League just 4 years ago. But time ages and our defense is ancient at this point. John Terry and Gary Cahill at the center of defense is hardly intimidating. Branislav Ivanovic at right back is straight laughable. Azpilicueta (more affectionately known as Dave) is one of the rare bright spots at this point, but even he can only do so much. Ola Aina might feature this season and while his defending is there, his decision making skills leaves a lot to be desired. All Chelsea fans are hoping for defensive reinforcement before the end of the window with Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli looking like a possible likely candidate but nothing concrete has materialized as of yet. If we don't it make a signing, it will really make me question the decision to loan Nathan Ake out the Bournemouth.

Thibaut Courtois. Wikipedia Commons/Ian Minkoff (CC)

Chelsea undoubtedly have one of the top goalies in the world in Thibaut Courtois, and talent is certainly not an issue for him. That being said, it was hardly a spectacular first season for Courtois so I'm hoping for a slightly better second one (and hopefully, a few less of those awful quotes he has a tendency of making).

4-3-3.

Probably our most likely lineup to end up with. One of Costa or Batshuayi leading the line with Hazard and Willian on the flanks (though I feel like Moses could thrive in this formation too). Our midfield would be very strong in this setup with Oscar fairly interchangeable with Fabregas. As with all of these formations, I really hope that is not our final defensive personnel.

4-2-4.

Conte's favorite formation from his time at Juventus, this formation is a lot more like a 4-4-2 that people realize. Conte has experimented with this heavily in preseason with some pretty bizarre combinations, including Loftus-Cheek as a striker...

3-5-2.

We certainly do not have the personnel to do this formation currently (because of our troubles in defense) but it's something to keep an eye out for next year. This is what Conte used for the most part during Euro 2016 with Italy and it is BEAUTIFUL to watch when it works.

People aren't kidding when the say this season will be the most competitive season ever. Last season may have only been a preview, but I predict that all of the big guns will be back this year. If anything, this season will by the year of the managers and the year that the transfer market went full crazy (yay, unsustainable TV deals!).

For Chelsea, in many ways this year might only be a transition seaso,n but look for a solid season from the Blues that will serve as a strong springboard for next season.

Keep an eye out for tomorrow's Premier League Preview!