Odds on championship: 11-8. Odds on relegation: 520-1
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson (since December 1986). Odds on first out the job: 40-1
Last season: 1st, 87 points; Champions League winners; FA Cup quarter-finals; Carling Cup third round
Ins: None.
Outs: Adam Eckersley (AC Horsens, free), Gerard Pique (Barcelona, £5m), Tom Heaton (Cardiff City, loan), Chris Eagles (Burnley, £1m).
Alex Ferguson started it, wondering if Chelsea were past it. But newspapers rushed to point out how close first-choice line-ups were in age, while John Terry has had his dig this week, suggesting that it was Manchester United who have peaked.
And it's a fair question, after a team wins the two greatest prizes the club game can offer: how often do sides follow that successfully?
In 1999, when United won the Treble so narrowly, it proved to be the first of three consecutive Premier League titles. As it is, United are already on for the hat-trick and the talk is of retaining the European Cup, becoming the first club to do so since the introduction of the Champions League format.
But what if Ferguson and Terry were both right? What if Chelsea are past it and United have peaked too?
They're both extreme positions. Exaggerations. But neither opinion was entirely pulled out of the air. Chelsea's average age is pulled down by their keeper and the out-field figure has not been lowered by the arrival of Deco, though Jose Bosingwa will bring it down; Luiz Felipe Scolari will have to tackle transition sooner or later.
United's average age is inflated by their keeper, but Ryan Giggs is on his way out and Paul Scholes cannot keep performing to his high standards too much longer: United's heroes in a crisis are their experienced players and their young ones, with those in between less impressive.
In the past two seasons, United have compensated for the lack of a prolific striker through the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo. That there is a risk inherent in this policy is shown by the pursuit of expensive forwards in first, Carlos Tevez, who did not score enough goals to solve the problem, and now Dimitar Berbatov.
Whether Mitko does arrive from Spurs this week or at least this month remains to be seen - there have been too many confident predictions of deals this summer for anyone to rely on recent reports. The pursuit is an acknowledgement of a potential weakness - but success in it could undermine the trident of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo that speared so many defences. How would Rooney, Tevez or Berbatov react to being a bench-warmer?
The great news for United is that Ronaldo has not left for Real Madrid; the bad news is that he wanted to and that he is missing anyway at the start of the season. United are not a one-man team whatever the odd fool says, but if one inspiration is missing and others are fading, then there may be problems.
United fans kicking back at Terry have cited Nani and Anderson and if United have peaked then it is only a matter of time before they peak again, assuming the finances continue to cover debt repayments and necessary replenishments of the squad. But how much burden are Nani and Anderson able to carry right now?
Last season, United were surely a better team than Chelsea, even if the Blues raised their game in the late head-to-head battles, winning one to take the title to the wire and having the European Cup within reach before it slipped away. But Arsenal looked strong favourites for the league at one point and Liverpool, for all their obvious flaws, were separated from the champions by the two wins achieved over them.
If United can start well, welcome back Ronaldo in a position of strength and keep Real's journalist agents at bay till the new year, then perhaps all will be well. August's fixtures look comfortable enough: home games against Newcastle and Fulham, with a trip to Portsmouth in between.
But after the international break come two key fixtures. Make or break would be an overstatement, but trips to Anfield and Stamford Bridge on successive weekends represent opportunity and risk in equal measure.
It's going to be a fascinating few weeks and I hope another season where we have a genuine title race, rather than one that lives only in the mind of Richard Keys. I'm tipping United to be champions again, but there are plenty of reasons to think they won't have it all their own way.
Philip Cornwall