THERE is a theory that Manchester United won the Premier League a year too early as Sir Alex Ferguson was gearing his team up for a big push in 2007-08.

This idea goes that a combination of Chelsea's woe in losing key men such as John Terry and Petr Cech at crucial stages of the season, plus the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo as a talent of true global status, had led to an early maturing of Fergie's master plan.

Not that anyone at Old Trafford will be too bothered about such details. The truth is that the Reds fully deserved the title win and will be better for it this season.

Lesser clubs with lesser managers find the season after winning the title extremely difficult, as it is often hard to shift the feeling of achievement and replace it with renewed hunger and drive.

Even Sir Matt Busby fell victim to that after the 1968 European Cup win, and it led ultimately to relegation six years later.

But Ferguson learns from the lessons of the past, and the mistakes of others, and his United team will be primed and positive going into what promises to be a hellish title race.

There is no room for slackers, and the strengthening of the squad this summer was a firm message to the players that competition for places is harder than ever, and that a league winner's medal means nothing - form and effort are everything.

Nani and Anderson face a tough time just getting into the first-team squad initially, despite the advancing years of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, while Owen Hargreaves brings much-needed solidity and nous to the area just in front of the back four, a weakness exploited so ruthlessly by AC Milan in the Champions League semi-finals last season.

Juggling

Carlos Tevez is the master stroke. Ferguson has raked in £13m for the sale of two strikers - Alan Smith and Giuseppe Rossi - who were struggling to fit into the picture, and has replaced them with someone who has the ingredients of an Old Trafford icon, and for a two-year "rental" fee.

The financial juggling performed by Ferguson has been astounding. Much has been made of the huge outlay on four players, but the truth is that it has only cost United around £20m this season, with the rest of the money payable in seasons to come.

With around £25m set to be recouped through the sales of Smith, Rossi, Kieran Richardson and the likely departure of Gabriel Heinze, it has been shrewd resource management rather than any kind of spending spree.

That leaves plenty of leeway to draft in another defender if the impending departure of Heinze does leave a gap.

The only note of worry among United fans this summer has been the lack of defensive strengthening.

Towards the end of last season it was that area which brought grave concern as Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra all landed in the treatment room.

Ferguson is banking on the belief that he cannot be so unlucky again, and on the rapid maturing of young players like Jonny Evans, Danny Simpson and Phil Bardsley, all of whom are likely to remain at Old Trafford this season rather than be packed off on another year on loan.

United's strength is there for all to see, enhanced by Hargreaves and Tevez, and possibly supplemented by the budding abilities of Anderson and Nani as the season progresses.

The imponderable is just how hard Chelsea can come back at the champions, especially now they have been slightly deflated by the possible loss of kingpin Terry for the first month of the season.

With Liverpool also gearing up for perhaps their most serious challenge for 16 years, and Arsenal quietly confident that their young team is capable of more than most people expect, everyone with football in their heart is hoping for a competition to relish.

With a year of experience tucked under their belts, with Tevez and Hargreaves in harness, and with Ferguson still cracking the whip, one piece of silverware will be simply a starting point this time around.

Robert Leyden looks at the key man, one to watch, ins and outs and makes his prediction for the season ahead.  

Key man: Cristiano Ronaldo

The Portuguese winger won a raft of awards after his incredible season for the Reds. It's amazing to think he is only 22, but with the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs moving into the twilight years of their careers, the young Portuguese star will be more important than ever.

One to watch: Nani

He has already been dubbed the next Ronaldo. He was a first team regular for his former club Sporting Lisbon and scored nine goals over his two year spell. He scored on his international debut against Demark, and on his Reds debut against Shenzhen. He will probably be eased into Premiership action, but nobody is better than Ferguson at fostering young talent and he is a star in the making.

INS: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, £17m), Nani (Sporting Lisbon, £17), Anderson (Porto, £17m), Tomasz Kuszcak (West Brom, £4m)

OUTS: Kieran Richardson (Sunderland), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal, £6m), Alan Smith (Newcastle £6m)

Prediction: Champions

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