Manchester United skipper Gary Neville reckons Chelsea paid a heavy price for complacency last season, so relinquishing the title they had won almost at a canter the previous two years.
"Nobody thought Manchester United would win the Premier League last season," he said. "But they under-estimated us. They under-estimated the knowledge and class of our manager.
"For two to three years we had been in suffering. At the start of the season we added Michael Carrick to our squad and lost Ruud van Nistelrooy. But Chelsea added Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack. But the manager knew what he was doing over a period of two years in building a new team and now we are in a fantastic position.
"Last season we played the best football, the most attacking and entertaining football - and we deserved to win the trophy. I don't think a United fan could ever be as excited about the players, the team and about the way the club is, as today."
Chelsea chief Peter Kenyon, however, has warned the current champions that the Blues will be moving heaven and earth to reclaim the Premiership crown next season.
Injuries to key players, and rumours of unrest amongst the Chelsea heirarchy, didn't help the club's cause and Kenyon says: "I'm not saying there weren't issues, there were various issues - as there are at every club. That has been addressed, I'm confident about next season and I don't think anyone wants a repeat of last year."
Kenyon also believes Chelsea fans will see the best of Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack after the pair made tentative starts to their Premiership careers.
"Andriy and Mike came in on four-year contracts, not for a year and then if you do okay we'll re-sign you," stated Kenyon. "It's a four-year commitment to add value to the squad over a period of time.
"Both of those players know they have got much more to achieve and want to achieve much more. I remember having a similar conversation this time last year. It can be easy to underestimate settling into English football."
Meanwhile, weekend reports suggest the Premier League is to test a Hawk-Eye system, which will determine if a ball crosses the goal-line or not, with a view to using it in matches.
Paul Hawkins invented a system that is used for key decisions in tennis and cricket, and the ball-tracking device will be tried out at Reading's academy. Hawkins confirmed: "We have a contract with the Premier League to develop a system. It is purely for the referees and not for television.
He added: "The process is to be evaluated firstly by the Premier League and then FIFA. If we jump those hurdles then there will be a slow role of trialling it in matches and, hopefully, with the end game of it being in all the Premier League grounds."
