The Fighting Talk Begins As John Terry Doubts Man Utd's EPL Title Credentials

Three days to go until the new season and the fighting talk has begun!

Unusually, however, it hasn't come through Sir Alex Ferguson's subtle mind games or Luis Felipe Scolari's less than perfect English, it has come from a player.

The Chelsea captain John Terry to be exact.

He has come out and said that he doesn't think that Manchester United have got another level to go to. Well, quite frankly, they don't really need another level. They won the Premier League and the Champions League last season, so if they did have another level to go to, I for one would be shaking in my boots.

The comments follow Ferguson's remarks about an "ageing squad who won't improve further." He also compared them to the Liverpool team of the early 90s who, after a spell of domination, declined and have not won the league title since.

This prompted Terry's comeback. The most surprising thing that I found, however, is that he actually singled out players. Even his England team-mates who he will be joining up with soon.

He predicted that the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs wouldn't hit the heights that they did last year.

Now I like players using fighting talk, I think there should be more people going out on a limb and saying what they truly feel in interviews, not what they feel they should say. But I don't think you should name other players specifically. Especially when it may cause tension in the England camp.

Just imagine being Rio Ferdinand, playing alongside someone who has made it publicly clear that he thinks you're past your best, and won't have as good a season as last term.

Also, I don't think you can doubt the title credentials of Manchester United when they have just won back-to-back Premier League crowns.

One thing this fighting talk will do, however, is heat up the rivalry between these two another notch, making it all the more exciting for us to watch. And then they'll be too concentrated on each other to notice Liverpool sneaking in and winning the title!

OK, so maybe that won't happen, but we can sure look forward to a mighty tussle for the title between these two heavyweights!