Alex Ferguson has said that he doesn’t expect much progress from Chelsea this season as they are a team ‘in their 30’s’. The Manchester United boss doesn’t believe that an ‘ageing’ Chelsea squad will provide much of a challenge to his team’s Premier League crown. Before you ask – no I haven’t made this up and yes, the mind games between Ferguson and Scolari have commenced. Over to you Big Phil.

Instead of being wary of Chelsea’s threat, Ferguson has stated that Liverpool and Arsenal concern him more. That’s right, the teams that finished eleven points and four points behind the leaders respectively concern him more than a team that finished just two points behind. When you consider that Arsenal have lost three key midfielders and that Liverpool can’t seem to take the next step in the league, you wouldn’t be alone in thinking that these are rather ludicrous comments from Fergie.

I don’t begrudge the fact that he believes Liverpool and Arsenal have a chance – but to write Chelsea off completely? That’s just nonsense. I’m not sure mind games work when it is blatantly obvious that the comments you make are purely intended to wind up the opposition. Scolari is a wise man and will know that these comments mean very little and that Ferguson will indeed be concerned about Chelsea’s threat this season. He has to be.

To say that he ‘isn’t sure how far that team has to go’ with reference to Chelsea baffles me. Which team is he talking about? Mourinho’s team? Grant’s team? No. This is Scolari’s team and he will operate a style of play that will be unique to any previous Chelsea side. This is a fresh start for Chelsea, not a ‘plateau’ as Mr Ferguson calls it.

Taking on board Fergusons comments – just for a second – let’s look at the players he may be referring to when he called the Chelsea squad ageing.

Michael Ballack – 31 years old: Still a world class performer and was influential in defeating Manchester United 2-1 back in April.

Didier Drogba – 30 years old: When he is fit, there is no doubting that he is one of the most influential strikers in football. Perhaps Fergie prefers 29-year-old Louis Saha.

Andrei Shevchenko – 31 years old: Unlikely to figure much in terms of a starting place, but still, not a bad player to have on the bench is he?

Frank Lampard – 30 years old: Presuming he is staying at Stamford Bridge, he will be a key part of the team’s success once again. Three years younger than Paul Scholes.

These are the main players that I presume Ferguson is referring too. They, with the possible exception of Shev, are all still world class players who can light up the biggest of stages with their performances. Since when has 30-years-old been over the hill anyway? A lot of Chelsea’s players are at their or reaching their peak right about now. That’s a good thing by the way Fergie.

Yes, in five years time, the Chelsea team will look very different. That’s inevitable. However, as for the next few months, the current Chelsea squad will be going head to head with Manchester United in all competitions once again. They are without doubt Manchester United’s biggest threat, regardless of what Fergie has to say. Like I have said before, I don’t believe he believes what he is saying anyway.

If I was to bet on the Premier League right now, the top two would almost certainly be led by Scolari and Ferguson. The latter said he doesn’t foresee ‘outstanding improvement’ from Chelsea. Well, my final thought on this is that considering Manchester United only won the league by two points and the Champions League on penalties – it wouldn’t exactly take ‘outstanding’ improvement for Chelsea to overcome them would it?

Thomas Rooney – Freelance Sports Journalist

Filed under: Rants, Rivals