This is no knee-jerk reaction to Manchester United's loss at Upton Park, because I've felt all season long that Chelsea will make it three titles in a row. John Terry recently stated that United couldn't play any better than they had done in this first half of the season. He's right as well.

Chelsea, on the other hand, can play a lot better, provided the manager finds the right blend on the pitch, and despite the Blues’ spectacular comeback at Goodison Park, they are still struggling to find the right formation and we have yet to see the west London side at their very best.

My gut feeling is that Chelsea can only throw away the title this season because, as Jose Mourinho rightly says, United will drop more points. Chelsea's big strength is that they don't normally concede many goals, and despite their often less-than-pleasing style, they have match-winners throughout the side, with Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Frank Lampard all registering in the goals column.

It also goes without saying that Chelsea have far more strength in depth in terms of quality. Sir Alex Ferguson is really limited in his engine room. Take the West Ham game; Fergie took off Michael Carrick, who was once again very poor, and replaced him with John O'Shea. No disrespect but he's not going to change a game, is he?

I speak to many Manchester United fans and I've yet to find one who believes Carrick is a top midfield player, or was worth the money we paid. Let’s not forget he was bought by Spurs for £2million and many Reds supporters share the view that that figure is closer to a more realistic valuation for the player. Yet we shelled out more than seven times that amount to sign him. If we rated him when he was at West Ham, then why didn't we take a punt on him when he was available on the cheap? Only Fergie and his accolytes can answer that one. The fact is Carrick doesn't score goals from midfield, his passing is inconsistent and often poor and he cannot tackle or tank up and down the park. In comparison, Juan Veron - whose time at Old Trafford is viewed as a failure - was miles better than Carrick.

Expecting the midfield combination of Paul Scholes and Carrick to take us to the title isn't realistic. Owen Hargreaves would, of course, improve our midfield massively but that deal probably won’t happen until the summer, if at all.

For the reasons outlined above, I can see Ferguson ending the season with a sideboard full of second prizes for his work this term, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that finishing runners-up to Chelsea is no disgrace. Added to which many neutral fans would agree that United are usually more attractive to watch, which actually counts for quite a lot. Chelsea don't play attractive football, and as Mourinho once said, he'd happily win 1-0 every week if he had to. That attitude and style of play wouldn't be accepted by United fans who demand to be entertained - it is what we have been used to down the years.

Not that I have choice in the matter, but I for one will settle for a second half of the season the same as the first with United at least trying to play the game the right way and attacking teams.

Who do you fancy for the title, Chelsea, Manchester United or even another club with a late surge? Sportingo would welcome your comments on this article.