'Imagine, if you will, a world without Roman Abramovich. Chelsea would be going the same way as Leeds United, deeper into debt and obscurity; Manchester United would still be the richest club on the planet; and on Saturday evening Sir Alex Ferguson would have been celebrating after watching his team replace Arsenal at the top of the Premiership for the first time in 12 months.
Ferguson’s belief is that that there have been mitigating circumstances every time United have missed out on the Premiership title over the past decade (serious injury to Roy Keane in 1997-98; long-term suspensions to Eric Cantona in 1994-95 and Rio Ferdinand last season; uncertainty over his retirement plans in 2001-02). Perhaps, given his description of Chelsea as "invincible", this season’s impending failure should also be put into some kind of context.
It is harsh, even unreasonable, to measure United and Arsenal against a yardstick that is a mile long. Take Chelsea out of the equation (and how Ferguson and Arsène Wenger must wish they could do that) and the rebuilding job undertaken at Old Trafford over the past two years can be seen in a different light.
It is no longer just in Ferguson’s mind that the future is taking shape. A 4-3-3 formation, similar to that used by José Mourinho with Chelsea, is bringing the best out of United. On Saturday, Aston Villa became the first opponents in nine matches to breach their defence, but a home win was never in doubt. "Championship form," Ferguson said, with a rueful smile.
The biggest difference between now and the difficult opening weeks of the season is the continuity in Ferguson’s team selections. The penny has dropped that Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kléberson, who both started three of the first five games of the campaign, lack what it takes, but some of the other players introduced to the team — Rio Ferdinand, Gabriel Heinze, Darren Fletcher, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney — are becoming permanent fixtures.'