When Jose Mourinho burst onto the scene and Chelsea became the new force in English football, there were many who thought Alex Ferguson’s days as Manchester United boss were numbered.      

Those doubters are suddenly running for cover after the feisty Scot steered United to their 17th league title and the 10th of his glittering Old Trafford reign.      

Mourinho has long gone, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is still fathoming the secret of the Premier League and new Chelsea manager Avram Grant could be on his way like Jose if Chelsea don’t win the Champions League.      

Men like Ferguson, and Arsene Wenger for that matter, don’t come around often. 

What marks them out above the rest is their ability to constantly evolve new teams while maintaining their own attractive brand of football. Like Bob Paisley at Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s they never make wholesale signings. They are masters at tweaking their squads, replacing wearing parts only when needed.    

Ferguson’s current crop are arguably his best ever side and, apart from a new right back, his transfer wish list will probably be a small one. 

While Cristiano Ronaldo, signed to replace David Beckham, has grabbed the headlines and sackloads of awards for his incredible goal haul, Ferguson’s lesser-hyped recruits have been just as vital to the end product. 

United’s attacking play has TV pundits drooling but their march to the title was built on rock solid defensive foundations.      

United conceded just 22 goals in their 38 Premier League matches, a club record, with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand forming probably the best central defensive axis in the country.

Full back Patrice Evra has also displayed solid defensive qualities to go with his raids down the left wing. With such a miserly rearguard and the ball-retaining powers of Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick in midfield, Ferguson has been able to unleash his attacking options at will.      

Few neutrals begrudged United another title. Chelsea have proved as tough as old boots to beat, but they have rarely quickened the pulse this season.      

While United have been expansive, Chelsea have been attritional. United regularly blew teams away with attacking verve as Chelsea relied on hard graft and individual moments of brilliance.      

Neither method will be a guarantee of glory in Moscow next week when the two sides contest the Champions League final, but millions of armchair fans around the world will be hoping flair and style shine through.

Martyn Herman, London

Kevin Keegan thinks the Premier League is getting boring — see our latest Vlog on the Pitch — but, not for the first time, Sir Alex Ferguson sees things a bit differently.

“The League is murder for me and Avram Grant and nerve-racking for fans and players,” Ferguson said. “It would be impossible to make the Premier League any more exciting.”

Perhaps Ferguson has a point. The top two are heading into the final day level on points, and a glance at Mike Collett’s piece here will show you how rare that is.

But look at this phrase of Ferguson’s, as quoted in the Daily Telegraph.

“Domination is not a word that will get used again with Everton and Aston Villa getting better,” Ferguson was quoted as saying.

Yet the fact remains, Tottenham, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton will all face a battle from the big four just to maintain their star players this summer.

Gareth Barry and Dimitar Berbatov have been strongly linked with moves to Liverpool and Manchester United, meaning Villa and Spurs could be weakened before they can try to add to their squads.

So what’s the answer? A salary cap? It would at least stop the likes of Chelsea and United adding all the top players to already bulging squads and allow the smaller clubs to compete.  

One league that does use this method is Rugby’s English Premiership, where six of the 12 teams were in contention to win this year’s title with two games to go.

Something has to be done, certainly. Whether Keegan is right or not, the truth is that the top four clubs get pretty much all the top players  in the end. Carlos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Michael Carrick are examples of this.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has been elusive over his retirement plans but with a possible double looming, should he start thinking about leaving on a high note if he manages to win this season’s Premier League and Champions League?

Ferguson, 66, has been at the club since 1986 and has brought nine league titles, five FA Cups and one European Cup to Old Trafford - will he ever feel he has won enough silverware?

He is a great example of why keeping the same manager for a long time can be effective - perhaps Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra should think about this before he gives Sven-Goran Eriksson the boot after just one season in charge. After all, Ferguson took nearly four years to win his first trophy.

He was due to retire in 2002 but the lure of more success changed his mind.

When is the right time for Ferguson to call it a day?

Sonia Oxley, London

My colleague Zoran Milosavljevic was enthused about Wednesday’s batch of friendlies but not everyone was so impressed. Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger both pondered the death of the international friendly after the midweek ‘action’ and they were not alone.

Other than the dramatic 4-3 victory by the Dutch, who had been trailing 3-0 to Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria, Wednesday’s games were a poor advert for mid-season international football with many players coming back injured — much to the annoyance of their club managers.

Ferguson did not hold back when asked what he thought of the matches after Darren Fletcher returned injured from helping Scotland draw 1-1 with Croatia.

“It was a bad blow with Darren Fletcher, which to me just emphasises the futility of playing these friendly games. It’s crazy. We have lost him for six weeks now… It’s crazy and supporters will stop going to these kind of games anyway, paying all that money and travelling. I think every manager knows, deep down, that they are a waste of time.”

Wenger added this:

“I’m scared that in the modern game, there is no room any more for friendly internationals. Not because countries take our players, just because people will not be interested in that anymore. There is nothing at stake. People want to see competitive games. Maybe I’m completely wrong but is it in the long term organisable for people to travel and spend their money to watch this kind of game? I’m not sure.”

Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill, Fulham boss Roy Hodgson and Steve Bruce of Wigan all complained as well, while Blackburn manager Mark Hughes will be the most fed up of all after seeing his South African midfielder Aaron Mokoena injure his Paraguayan club colleague Roque Sante Cruz in their international friendly.

So with all this unrest is it time FIFA acted and separated the international season from the domestic season and have all internationals played in a six week window in the summer?

PHOTO: David Beckham talks to German referee Florian Meyer during France’s win over England in Paris, March 26, 2008 REUTERS/Charles Platiau