Manchester United: 4 Reasons They Will Win the Premier League Again in 2012

When Manchester United won the Premier League last season, they passed Liverpool for the most top flight titles. They have now lifted the trophy four of the last five seasons and 12 of the last 19.

And there is no reason to think they will not repeat as champions in 2011/2012.

Here are four reasons why.

Sir Alex Ferguson

When Sir Alex Ferguson took over at Manchester United, the Cold War was still at its height, Nintendo was still to release the first Metroid and Bill Buckner was just an average first baseman.

His longevity and success has cemented his place as one of the greatest football managers of all time, and he is still at the peak of the Premier League hierarchy. 

Wayne Rooney & Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov led the Premier League in scoring last season with 20, Javi Hernandez was sixth with 13 and Wayne Rooney was 16th with 11.

Manchester United were the only team to have three players in the top 20 in scoring and that strong offense will not slow down next season.

Returning Core

Unlike many of the teams around them, and despite the losses of a few central figures like Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United can content themselves in the fact they have a comparatively large proportion of their core returning.

Nani, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Dimitar Berbatov are all returning and help United boast the league's most potent lineup.

Competitors Weaker

Perhaps the biggest reason Man U will defend their title next season is the fact their competition is markedly weaker than it has been in recent years.

Liverpool are still floundering, Arsenal are too young, Manchester City are probably going to lose their main goalscoring threat and Chelsea are facing a bit of a bridge year.