So long as scheming and rivalry are to be found only on the pitch, Mourinho's team should be caught up in an engrossing battle with United and, perhaps, Liverpool.
It was more than just the elation of victory talking when Jose Mourinho spoke at length following this year's FA Cup final. He was in a hurry to discuss a new Premier League season in which he will seek to regain his primacy. The Portuguese and his counterparts are now more perked up still after a summer without an international tournament to sap their European players.
The suspicion that Chelsea would turn into well-nigh permanent champions has been exploded. In addition to reclaiming the Premier League title, Manchester United made Mourinho's concept of well-drilled football look less productive. Others have taken note.
Many expect Sir Alex Ferguson's side to continue dictating to their rivals but several clubs ought to be equipped to answer back with greater vehemence. Foreign money has been poured into the Premier League and investors do expect a return.
Liverpool were a major club whose laboured style in the Premier League made them seem archaic by comparison with United. Suddenly, thanks to Ferguson's example, it is in vogue to embrace risk.
Benítez himself has certainly gambled. The reported price of £27m may have been a tad overstated but the Anfield manager went to extremes to ensure that Fernando Torres was obtained.
Clubs, who would primarily have lived in dread of debt in long-gone generations, have a horror these days of being left behind. West Ham, for instance are a club whose thanksgiving for coming through last season unscathed has been expressed with a splurge that has brought in Freddie Ljungberg, Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy and Julien Faubert.
Birmingham, in the grip of comparative frugality, must be ready for a season of toil on their return to the Premier League, and the task to come must be more daunting still for another promoted club, the modestly bankrolled Derby County.
Top flight
Those in the top flight whose means are relatively limited, such as Reading, Blackburn and Bolton, must trust that they already have the quality of personnel required. Everton, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough should have the means to ensure that they are comfortable if not prominent in the Premier League.
There are new aspirations elsewhere to invigorate the fixture list. At Manchester City, for instance, Sven- Goran Eriksson has the budget and the circumstance to start reminding everyone that he was a manager of cosmopolitan distinction. Nonetheless, it is Tottenham who intrigue most. They have surely reached the stage when they will either break or tumble backwards.
Arsenal cannot be complacent about coming at least fourth in the Premiership. The departure of Thierry Henry may have occurred at the correct moment, considering the seeming decline in his condition, but Arsène Wenger will have to attend to basics by instilling a durability that has been absent for a while.
Manchester United's 'To Do' list is shorter than most. Ferguson acted fast by agreeing a deal to buy Owen Hargreaves and the reactions were quick too in acquiring Nani and Anderson. The recruitment of the latter pair was an acknowledgement that prospects must be found who can gradually take over from veterans like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. For all that, United may still be more dependent on their old-timers than they would wish. It is rational enough to envisage the Premiership trophy staying at Old Trafford, but Jose Mourinho does have an outstanding squad.
The manager pledges a more adventurous approach, which will pay dividends so long as Didier Drogba can continue to cope with the team's unhealthy reliance on him in attack. Apart from that, Mourinho must steel himself to play nice with his colleagues Avram Grant and Frank Arnesen in the elaborate structure of Chelsea's football operations.
So long as scheming and rivalry are to be found only on the pitch, Mourinho's team should be caught up in an engrossing battle with United and, perhaps, Liverpool.
