Sir Alex Ferguson must have thought he had done it again. It all started with Kevin Keegan and the outburst that made more than just those on Teesside and Wear-side howl with laughter. The latest manager to apparently succumb to the mental pressure of trying to compete with the old master was Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. But has Sir Alex celebrated a little too soon?

Whilst United still have their destiny in their own hands as far as the Premier League is concerned, it looks a lot less comfortable than it did a fortnight ago. In between dishing out hammerings to Real Madrid and high-flying Aston Villa, the Reds produced a quite masterful performance at Old Trafford and with the Red Devils slipping up again in London, the dream of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard to once again see the Kop at the very top of the English game may yet be realised this season.

Having watched the three latest performances of both teams, it will be a braver man than me who will predict who will triumph in May. Present form suggests that the Anfield mob may have one or two reasons why Old Trafford regulars will not yet sleep easy, whether it be when the Premiership or Champions League is concerned.

The main reason may well be the current form of Gerrard himself who has been quite magnificent in recent weeks. With Ronaldo not firing on all cylinders and Rooney finally getting his come-uppance at the weekend after season of opening his mouth to referees without comeback, key players need to be at their best and at present, for United, they’re not. Liverpool on the other hand have seen Fernando Torres return from injury, the whole defence start to perform miracles, whilst Gerrard has been on top and inspirational form.

For Liverpool to claim their first title in nearly two decades is almost like a return to childhood. All I remember growing up is that Middlesbrough lost more than they won and Liverpool won the league all the time. To think that the team which dominated league football for more than a decade has not won the English league since before the turn of the last decade, let alone this one, would have been unthinkable all those years ago. But the Liverpool that won title after title was a different animal in a different environment.

At that time, Liverpool were the biggest club in the league. Every player wanted to play for them because it meant success. Liverpool could attract almost any player they wanted and usually did. They even used to buy the best players from other teams and then put them in the reserves for a couple of years, just so they couldn’t perform well against them. Graeme Souness, Craig Johnston, David Hodgson - all left Boro for pastures new on Merseyside. All were successful to various degrees, or at least, considerably more successful than they thought they would have been at Ayresome Park. But at that time, no other club got a look in. They simply could not compete and were unable to hang on to their players who yearned the type of success that an Anfield contract could bring - league titles, domestic cups, international call-up’s even European glory.

Today, of course, the silver dollar can often speak louder than silverware and the foreign invasion has had two effects. It has not only given an awful lot more clubs a squad capable of producing several ‘one-off’ results that enable them to compete in the latter stages of domestic cup competitions but has also restricted the availability to all but the very best home-grown talent of places at the top clubs. Nowadays, you are just as likely to see a reserve of youth team made up of foreign players of various ages as you are to see a wholly English or Scottish team for example.

Liverpool’s increasingly strong challenge for the Premier League title has come, some may say unfortunately, on the back of the exodus of home players and the import of replacements from abroad. Only the likes of Gerrard and Carragher can compete as Benitez himself seeks to match the success of Ferguson, Wenger, and whoever the hell is in charge at Chelsea by bringing home the top domestic honour. This means that more and more internationals are required to bolster the smattering of domestically-produced players who are considered good enough to make the grade. It is not necessarily quality that governs the ultimate choice but price : a decent midfielder from Europe or beyond can be purchased for a lot more reasonable asking price than his English or Scottish or Irish equivalent. United, Chelsea and a couple of others are alone on being capable of spending £20M or £30M on a single player. The rest have to scrap around for, quite literally, the best of the rest. Some are successful, some are not (do NOT mention Afonso Alves at this moment).

So, after a suitably long rant, do I want Liverpool to win the title?

Ask me that 20 years ago and I would have said ’no way’. However, the dominance of Liverpool in the 1980’s has been replaced by the potentially equally boring dominance of Manchester United and Chelsea. A change is as good as a rest they say. If Rafa’s team do manage to overhaul Fergie’s boys then no doubt the bad loser side of both manager and players will be seen to the fore. Let’s face it, (and this isn’t from a fully paid-up member of the ’I hate Man U’ club but it is still a fact), Manchester United will moan and whinge about injuries, refereeing decisions, fixture congestion and whatever else they can think of to blame rather than congratulating another team on winning. If I can lay the blame for Boro’s impending relegation on no-one but ourselves then at least have the grace to concede the title with some dignity.

It may not happen. But as someone who is married to a Liverpool supporter, if they throw away their best chance of a title in twenty years then it will be a long summer of regrets and maybe’s just like so many others. If Boro get relegated as well, I reckon even the dog will have left home by mid-August.