Stan Collymore has claimed that Manchester United do not possess the talent to overtake Chelsea, essentially ruling them out of the title race. A bold claim given that the United squad is predominantly the same as the one that has won three back-to-back league titles and a European cup. While at first it seems as if Collymore is being hasty, is his argument as outlandish as it seems?

For me there is little doubt that Chelsea have the stronger squad; they have two strong players for each position and are a formidable side whichever way you look at it. But that is not to say United are not contenders; they are starting to look more convincing after a series of unremarkable performances; the manner in which they swept aside Everton and Portsmouth suggests they are beginning to hit their form. It is easy to see what Collymore’s point is though, if the two squads were pooled together, a first eleven would be heavily skewed towards Chelsea. On current form only Van der Sar, Giggs and Rooney would have a chance of inclusion; even the normally imperious Vidic would lose out to the resurgent Ricardo Carvalho. The side than won three successive titles was heavily reliant on Ronaldo and his absence is noticeable in their style of play, if not in their results.

Despite this gulf in class, United have players in the shape of Fletcher and Rooney whose work rate can compensate for deficiencies in the team; they ground out results in the early part of the season without playing particularly well and Ferguson’s team are well placed to challenge Chelsea for the top spot over the winter. It is well documented that Chelsea will lose players during the African Cup of Nations while United will not be affected; Drogba’s importance to Chelsea was underlined at the Emirates and it will be interesting to see how they cope without him, though their progress in the Champions League was not hindered by his absence.

Chelsea are rightfully favourites to top the league in May, they are the stronger side and are playing some great football; but it is a long season and United should expect to beat the majority of teams in the league; their season will be defined by their results against their title rivals. I would not be as quick as Collymore to write off United, but it would take a monumental effort from them and a serious collapse from Chelsea to prove him wrong.

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