This may be Ferguson's best side ever

After Manchester United defeated Blackburn 2 - 0 at Old Trafford on the weekend, manager Alex Ferguson suggested in an interview with the BBC that this year's squad was the strongest he's had in his years at the club.

That's a pretty bold statement, even for Ferguson. But I think it's certainly worth a look because there are shreds of truth in the ageless Scotsman's words.

I think for the purposes of illustration, we could pick three Man United championship sides and compare their relative merits. Jonathan Stevenson of the BBC did a similar comparison, but I think that I come at this debate from a slightly different standpoint.

The Teams:

1994: Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, G Neville, Robson, Ince, Keane, Scholes, Kanchelskis, Giggs, Sharpe, Cantona, Hughes, McClair, Dublin.

1999: Schmeichel, G Neville, P Neville, May, Irwin, Brown, Johnsen, Stam, Keane, Scholes, Butt, Blomqvist, Beckham, Giggs, Solskjaer, Cole, Yorke, Sheringham.

2007: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, G Neville, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, O’Shea, Silvestre, Pique, Hargreaves, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Giggs, Nani, Anderson, Fletcher, Rooney, Tevez, Saha.

Aside from the fact that Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were members of all three teams, there is a few other similarities which are indicative of Ferguson's style.

In each of the three seasons in question, a foreign player led (or is leading) Man United in league scoring: Cantona (18), Yorke (18) and Ronaldo (currently with 6).

In addition, United have had the most success when playing with continental keepers as opposed to British-born number ones.

However, Ferguson has always understood the need to buttress top foreign with great players familiar with the English game. Players like Keane, Hughes, Beckham, Cole and now Carrick are just as important as some of the imports.

Great players are necessary to win the Premier League and the FA Cup. What I think places this edition of Man United apart from its predecessors is that the great players in the squad now would be great on any team in the world, not just in England.

Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney and Nani are all world-class players. These guys would be stars on any team in Europe. Playing together, they are a formidable unit who will be challenging the best on the continent for the Champions League title this year and for the foreseeable future.

Also, the contributions of players like Giggs, Carrick, Ferdinand and Vidic only add another dimension to the Red Devil's prowess.

Don't get me wrong, there have been great players at United before. Cantona, for example, was perhaps the most talented player in Europe at his peak. Unfortunately, he was shunned by the French national team and therefore without an international stage upon which to ply his trade.

In addition, Peter Schmeichel was one of the best keepers in the history of the sport. And no one would question the pedigree of Irwin, Bruce, Robson or Cole, but would they have been the world-wide stars that currently suit up at Old Trafford today?

The current crop of players stands to exceed the lofty standards of the past for Manchester United. Even with an injury-prone star like Rooney, United have the depth of talent to continue at a high level of play. But any of the top stars in this squad would look equally menacing in Madrid, Milan or Munich.

The comparisons will only begin in earnest once this team has won at least a proper double (PL plus European Cup or FA Cup). Based on current form and the ability shown last year in winning the league, this is not beyond United at the moment.

Ferguson's bold statements can be empty at times, but I don't think he's spoken lightly this time.