I keep waiting for the close season to suddenly burst into a frenzy of transfer activity, but continue to be disappointed. Have I missed something? Has next season's big kick-off been put back a month? Is Roman Abramovich too busy checking oil prices on his multi-million dollar yacht to realise that Chelsea need another massive cash injection?

Mark Viduka doing a sideways move from Tees to Tyne? Good move – for Middlesbrough! Aston Villa showing an interest in Nigel Reo-Coker? If ever there was a pantomime spot for Fuss in Boots, this is the one. Not many West Ham supporters will shed tears at NRC’s departure. Get cameras in the dressing room, Martin.

Joey Barton on his way to Newcastle? Well, Sam Allardyce took on the Magnificent Sulk at Bolton and came away without, er, too much damage, so he might feel he can handle the, er, problem-riddled enigma with a huge footballing talent and the attitude of a juvenile delinquent.

Either Jose Mourinho is arrogant enough to believe that he already has the squad capable of turning the clock back a couple of seasons, or the Roman emperor has decided “Enough is enough!”


That seems to have taken care of the also-rans. What about the business end of the Premiership? Chelsea haven’t moved a muscle. Now there could be two reasons for this. Either Jose Mourinho is arrogant enough to believe that he already has the squad capable of turning the clock back a couple of seasons, or the Roman emperor has decided “Enough is enough!” Whatever the reason, they are making a huge mistake.

Arsenal have slipped into a time-warp that suggests they are stuck with a massive mortgage on the Emirates Stadium and want to get the monthly payment down and they are quite happy to carry on with their day trips to France to pick up the odd bargain. Oh, and they’re about to have the crown jewel snatched from the vault. Thierry Henry won’t spend another gong-free season at Arsenal when Barcelona are beckoning.

So what about Liverpool? They’re too busy getting all uppity about UEFA burdening them with the 'Worst Fans in Football' trophy. That title surely belongs to the Italians, seeing as how the death toll attributable to fans is certainly higher in Italy than it is on Merseyside. But there were clear messages in the Champions League Final that Rafa Benitez has to do some urgent repair work if Liverpool want to rub shoulders with the elite on a regular basis.

And that brings us to Manchester United, who sprang from the starting blocks like Carl Lewis, snaffled three superb talents from the European market place, and more or less settled the 2008 Premiership title race. For an initial outlay of less than £10m, they have augmented their team of champions with three amazing new players.

Brazilian midfielder Anderson and Portuguese wonder winger Nani will be gradually integrated into the rigours of the Premiership in the same way that Cristiano Ronaldo was nursed and nurtured by Sir Alex Ferguson. Owen Hargreaves is big enough to look after himself right from the off.

But while the rest are umming and erring, Ferguson has shown his hand, and he hasn’t finished yet. Samuel Eto’o’s name has been linked with Old Trafford, but Dimitar Berbatov’s reaction to news of United’s interest is fascinating. He claims he is happy at Spurs, but doesn’t hide his admiration for United’s style of football. “Of course it would be a pleasure to play with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo. They simply know how to have fun on the pitch.” Now if that isn’t a come-and-get-me plea, then I don't know what is.

Maybe Chelsea have become an unattractive prospect for potential new signings, this could be due to a number of factors, maybe some believe that Chelsea's time has passed or maybe they can't be confirmed to have a constant place in the team due to the sheer amount of talent currently plying their trade at the Bridge? Whatever the reasons for Chelsea's apparent lack of transfer activity it seems clear that their stranglehold on the Premiership has slipped somewhat.

Jose is also in a no win situation, if he adds to his squad he is accused of continuing to depend on Roman's millions and if he does nothing it looks like Chelsea are no longer the favoured location for the footballing elite.

I know it’s a bit early, but the bookies have already decided that United and Chelsea are joint favourites at 13-8 to win the Premiership next season. And as United have already stolen a march on their bitter rivals and showed them the way home last season, I reckon the title is already decided, and the race is really about the runners-up spot. Come on you Hammers!