Manchester United gets acclaim - even from those who used to abhor them

For the team that all but their hordes of Red supporters used to despise has won respect and admiration this season not just for the quality of the football - but for the way their results have made Chelsea look distinctly second best.

Chelsea - the new anathema to all but their blue-tinted eyed supporters

Chelsea's rapid rise to success on the back of the zillions invested in the Club by their billionaire Russian owner Mr. Abramovich was initially welcomed by many neutrals. The hegemony of Manchester United (eight wins) and Arsenal (three wins) in the first twelve years of the FA Premier League seemed unbreakable and for Chelsea to take and then retain the title at least broke the monotony. But soon it became apparent that there was an overweening arrogance on show at Stamford Bridge - they seemed to assume that they had an inalienable and unchallengeable right to continued success. Millions of pounds continued to be spent to try and ensure that success was maintained and when their rather vain Manager José Mourinho had a series of spats with referees, other managers and the football authorities it did nothing for Chelsea's status away from South West London. Soon Chelsea replaced Manchester United as the team that supporters of other clubs in the league hoped to see lose. It wasn't just the supporters of local rivals Fulham who wore the T-shirt "I support my club and anyone playing against Chelsea".

Squad building and loyalty is the key to United's success

Where Chelsea wave their cheque books indiscriminately in the direction of any player they think might add talent to their squad the approach of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United has been very different. Whilst United's financial resources are strong the canny Scot is usually minded to spend his money carefully. His squad includes key players who have spent nearly all of their long careers at Old Trafford - such as Giggs, Scholes and Gary Neville - and under Ferguson's shrewd management these players blend well with the more recent signings like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. The tabloid view after the last two had squared up against each other during the last World Cup was that Ronaldo would have to leave United. But Ferguson saw that this did not happen and the partnership between these two young players is one of the key factors in Manchester United's success this season. Meanwhile at Stamford Bridge the £30 million Andriy Shevchenko has disappointed and Mourinho has so far failed to get the best out of the talented Ukrainian.

United's business model is sounder than Chelsea's

Bank-rolling success in the Premier League is not new - it happened in 1994-5 when the millionaire Jack Walker funded a league win for his beloved Blackburn Rovers. But for Blackburn sustaining that success was more elusive - indeed within a few years of their success they were relegated. Roman Abramovich has far more resources than the late Mr. Walker - but will the novelty wear off if the trophies don't come easily and the money continues to disappear into a dark hole? Chelsea is a business, as are most of the top European clubs, but it is a business with far more in the "cash out" column than in the "cash in". On the other hand Manchester United, under its pragmatic American ownership, needs to generate an adequate return on capital and be cash positive - a fact which Alex Ferguson no doubt sees as just as it should be.

Don't write off Chelsea, but it's United who look the form horse

If Manchester United do slip up then Chelsea are certainly not too far behind to take advantage and move up on the outside to overtake them. But looking at the body language of the two managers it seems to me that it is the Manchester club who are more likely to maintain their form and prevail. Ferguson has a quite confidence in his demeanor at the moment - and more than the hint of a smile on his face. Mourinho looks flustered and confused at times - and not a little frustrated. Too many of his players, including Club Captain John Terry, have a poor disciplinary record this season - another sign of a team under pressure. And so come the end of the season the Premiership may move back north for the first time for four seasons and most remarkably of all even the neutrals who once despised United may allow themselves a silent cheer about this - and the fact that that the rich kids of Chelsea, and their Gucci clad manger, have been trumped by the old-fashioned virtues of teamwork and solid football nous preached and applied by the great Sir Alex.