THIS title win will go down as Alex Ferguson’s greatest ever. Better than the first in 1993 which opened the floodgates or the comeback of all comebacks against Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle in 1996. Even the one which kicked off the Treble in 1999 should be eclipsed by this. Why? Because this one was simply not supposed to happen. Not after the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ had eclipsed United with a 38-game unbeaten triumph in 2004. Or after Chelsea had begun what looked like a new age of dominance in 2005, then so easily retained their title the following season.The first time Chelsea eclipsed third-placed United by 18 points and then last year by eight. Having taken Liverpool’s mantle as English football’s undisputed dominant force, it looked like United were following them into a cycle of decline. But while their old enemies are still searching for the route back to the top after last lifting the title in 1990, United have rebuilt and hit back. Perhaps only Ferguson himself really believed they could do it. Right from the very start, he said he had faith in this team. Last summer, the Old Trafford boss said: “I look to the coming season with every confidence. “This season, after three years without the championship, poses a particular challenge. I am sure they will measure up.” And measure up they have with stunning free-flowing attacking football reminiscent of their most glorious of glory days.
From a 5-1 opening-day trouncing of Fulham, they ripped through the season with stunning goal-filled football. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney came of age and the experienced pros like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes found a new lease of life. But for Ferguson the key to this triumph was the way his hungry side shot out the blocks — just as Chelsea and Arsenal had done in the previous three seasons. He said: “It was imperative we made a good start and didn’t allow anyone to break away. “We didn’t want to be in a position of playing catch-up for the rest of the campaign. “We achieved this target despite injuries to players. “It was in this early period that it was confirmed for me that some of the younger players had made the progress I was looking for and that we had quality in depth.
“So we were up and running and playing some great attacking football. “Penetrating, exciting and entertaining, while still keeping it tight at the back with a much improved solidity and concentration in defence. “Our opening to the campaign sent out the right kind of message — especially to our rivals. “They realised that they were perhaps not going to have things all their own way again and that we intended to pose a real challenge.”
United won their opening four Premiership games, scoring 11 goals in the process and conceding only two. Those who questioned FergieÂ’s decision to sell Dutch superstar striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid were immediately converted. Here was a player who had plundered a quite incredible 150 goals in just 200 starts for the Old Trafford side.
Ferguson admitted: “I have always admired his scoring skills and I think everyone must have wondered how we would manage without the kind of goal tally that he has contributed for us every season. “But I was pretty confident that we would still pose a goalscoring threat. “The goals have been spread right throughout the team.
“The form of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo has been tremendous. “They have got their goals between them without even being a proper partnership like Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole were.” While Yorke and Cole hit 53 as a strike pairing in the Treble-winning side of 1999, Ronaldo and Rooney stand on 46 with 23 goals each and three games of United’s 2006-07 campaign remaining.
In the middle of the season after a potentially crushing late defeat at the Emirates, Ferguson felt more convinced than ever the title was coming back. He said: “We will have to be strong and simply make sure that we are in fact stronger than any of the others. And I believe we are.”
Indeed, they have been and richly deserving of a ninth Premiership title.
