That is why English football should put tribal loyalties aside and rejoice that Manchester United are champions of England for the 16th time. And why no-one, not even the fevered imagination of Jose Mourinho, should deny them their right to their ninth Premiership crown.

A bunch of players and coaches have been responsible for breaking the dominance bought by the billions of Roman Abramovich over the past three years.

The evergreen form of Ryan Giggs and the return to full fitness of Paul Scholes are high on that list.

So is Nemanja Vidic, the central defender whose arrival cemented the cracks at the heart of United's rear.

The blossoming of £18million Michael Carrick, too, has been a factor, one that might well prove crucial for England in the quest to qualify for Euro 2008.

And the scintillating form of Cristiano Ronaldo, which brought him the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards, coupled with the brilliance of Wayne Rooney, are obvious reasons why the Premiership crown once more resides at Old Trafford.

But one man, more than any, is responsible for protecting the United tradition as conceived by Sir Matt Busby and the famous Busby Babes: Sir Alex Ferguson.

The fact is that 21 years after the United manager walked through the gates of Old Trafford and at an age when many pensioners struggle to find the energy to do much more than pull on their slippers and sift through the TV listings Ferguson has just performed his greatest domestic feat.

Yes, the Premiership 2007 is THE greatest of his league triumphs.

Why? Because Ferguson might have been tempted to go down the power route after watching Chelsea ride across the Premiership horizon by Christmas in the previous two seasons with Mourinho's pragmatic approach.

He might have been worn down by Chelsea's bottomless pit of cash, tempted to give it up altogether and retire with the memories of that 1999 treble a shining light in a fabulous career.

Instead, he chose to build one last dynasty in the image of the pioneering Busby.

The results have been so spellbinding that neutrals need no longer worry about Chelsea dominating the Premiership for years on end.

The blend of youth and experience in the current United side is such that they too could be a force for the best part of the next decade.

Obviously, Ferguson will not stay that long but he will be reluctant to give up a team he has assembled with such aplomb.

Why should he hand such history-making rewards to a successor when he could enjoy them himself?

Why should he go when, with a little fine-tuning which might well be supplied by the impending arrival of Owen Hargreaves this summer, the Champions League dream dashed in Milan might be realised?

Consider the performance against Everton last month, a display which summed up everything about Manchester United 2007.

Two goals down with less than half an hour to go with a passionate Goodison ready to announce a famous Merseyside triumph United were gifted a goal by young Everton goalkeeper Iain Turner.

Ferguson seized the moment. He turned to the dugout and motioned to Ronaldo to get on and a match which might have yielded nothing suddenly was transformed into a confidence-pumping 4-2 victory and a five-point lead in the Premiership race.

The silly grin on Ferguson's face, the embarrassing jig of delight, the fist-shaking gestures of triumph, his willingness to talk to the cameras. They all told the same story.

Ferguson knew that it was the half-hour which had won the title and there is not a team in the land who could have seized that moment with such swaggering ruthlessness.

It is for moments and days such as that why Ferguson will not retire.

The other question, of course, is how much longer Mourinho will be at Stamford Bridge?

There is, of course, an FA Cup final to come and any appraisal of the current season must wait until they are complete.

But while Chelsea have declared publicly they will not sack their Portuguese manager, whose contract extends until 2010, the loss of the title and failure to reach the Champions League final, beaten by a team in Liverpool a country mile behind them in the Premiership, will have refocused Abramovich's thoughts.

For his £500m investment does Abramovish really want to watch a side grind out results while United excite the nation?

That might be acceptable while his Chelsea team are winning the biggest prizes but runners-up spot and tedium are not easy bedfellows.

Mourinho might have forged a remarkable spirit on the pitch at Stamford Bridge but the cracks have turned to fissures off it in recent months.

Andriy Shevchenko's £31million transfer has been a major disappointment, while events like Michael Ballack reportedly undergoing an ankle operation without informing the club this week need to be addressed.

Arjen Robben is a discontented substitute and it has been suggested the dressing room is split into different factions.

It is a mix as volatile as the manager himself, whose acrimonious feud with Liverpool's Rafael Benitez and pronouncements on just about everything from penalties to the half-time tea to the war on poverty has become wearing.

So much so that, whatever the boardroom line, no-one would be surprised if it all ended in tears some time soon.

As for Ferguson he just goes on and on. What do you do after nine Premiership titles? Go for a 10th of course.