'Nobody pricks the ears and stirs a debate like the Manchester United manager, and so it was in the wake of his team's 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday that the wily old Scot, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a wry smile, proclaimed his present squad to be the strongest that he has had the privilege of managing during his 21 years at Old Trafford.
'Certainly in terms of pure talent, the present wearers of the United shirt are hard to match, but for a team who have yet to win anything, it was some declaration from Ferguson, even if they are brushing aside all who dare stand in their way.
'Still, how would the treble-winning team have fared without Paul Scholes for three months? Since Scholes suffered a knee injury three weeks ago, however, it has barely been noticed that he is missing. In his absence, Anderson has excelled, just as Michael Carrick or Nani can and have when Owen Hargreaves or Ryan Giggs are unavailable.
'Similarities between past teams and the present one abound. For Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister in the early 1990s, read Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand now, while the almost telepathic understanding that Carlos Tévez and Wayne Rooney have is reminiscent of that shared between Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole during the 1998-99 campaign, even if the treble winners boasted more options in attack.
'Louis Saha is a potent force when fit, but such are the concerns about his injury record, Ferguson may be forced to delve into the transfer market in January for another striker. United did not miss Rooney against Blackburn, but it remains to be seen how Ferguson's team would cope if the England forward, or Tévez, was missing for the remainder of the season.
'The strongest squad yet? They will need to win something before such superlatives can be justified, but they appear to be on the way to proving their manager right.'