There has been plenty of discussion in the last few weeks on the comparative merits of the 1998/99 treble winning Manchester United team and the current double winning side.

Cristiano Ronaldo v David Beckham, Jaap Stam v Nemanja Vidic, Roy Keane v Michael Carrick; there are battles throughout the field, but I feel it’s the strength in depth up front of the 1999 winners which just gives them the edge over the boys of 2008.

Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney are arguably better players than Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, but do Danny Wellbeck and Louis Saha compare to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham?

'Rooney and Tevez both had very successful campaigns but there was no strength in depth apart from the injury-prone Saha, who barely featured


If United had been trailing in this year's Champions League final by a goal with 20 minutes to go could they have looked to the bench for the goals that Sheringham and Solskjaer provided? Instead, they had Ryan Giggs and Nani on the bench, neither of whom were recognised front men.

Last season Rooney scored 20 in all competitions and Tevez grabbed 19, while Louis Saha chipped in with five, but the team’s goal tally was boosted thanks to Ronaldo who scored more than all of them put together with 42! Rooney and Tevez both had very successful campaigns but there was no strength in depth apart from the injury prone Saha who barely featured.

It’s these low-scoring strikers in the current side that I believe gives the 1998/99 team the edge. Yorke scored 29, Cole hit 24, Sheringham scored five including a European Cup final strike while Solskjaer bagged 18 in all competitions, 12 in the league despite only 19 starts!

That’s an astonishing 75 goals between the four fantastic forwards in all competitions in contrast to just 44 between United’s current strikers. Sir Alex Ferguson’s rotation policy worked very well in 1998/99, perfectly balancing the roles of his four dynamite strikers.

Many United fans would point to not only the Champions League final as an example of this but also the countless late goals that Sheringham and Solskjaer scored in other matches.

You just have to look at Solskjaer scoring four as a sub against Nottingham Forest and his last-minute winner in the FA Cup tie against  Liverpool. Can you say Saha has had the same impact from the bench? Many times last season Ferguson was left with no recognised striker on his bench, a far cry from the embarrassment of riches he had in 1998/99.