Balance of power shifting

IS the Carling Cup unimportant? Something to get out of the way before the business end of the season kicks in? Try telling these two teams, who need to win the second leg of this tie for more than a place in the final.

For Chelsea the Carling Cup represents a chance to end a five-year trophy drought the first of a possible four.

For Manchester United it represents their best chance of silverware this season, though they are still in every competition Chelsea are in.

But for both it is a barometer of whether the power base in English football rests in Manchester or London.

On this evidence, it has shifted south.

Both clubs claimed before the match they held this cup in lower regard than the league or the FA Cup, and thus would field weakened line-ups. And if that is the case, then Chelsea's second string, if you could call Frank Lampard and John Terry part of a second string, is better.

They played like a team rather than a bunch of egos battling for their manager's attention by lashing the ball around and protesting every decision that didn't go their way.

One got the impression United were playing with a sense of desperation, and had been told by Ferguson they had to get a result.

But Chelsea, and the way they created space particularly through Damien Duff and Lampard displayed a composure that only comes from knowing you are at your best.

And if last night's match wasn't enough to convince the casual observer that Chelsea are now the big men on campus, there is always the 11-point gap between the two sides in the league, and last weekend's FA Cup performance by Ferguson's side against non-league Exeter. A second straight 0-0 draw for United will do little to silence the critics who claim Ferguson and his side no longer have what it takes.

The Exeter embarrassment rattled Ferguson ahead of the League Cup. Although there were nine changes from that game there were only six different players from their previous Premiership encounter and one of those was Wayne Rooney, just returned from suspension.

But only six players survived from United's second round triumph over Arsenal, and four players made their Carling Cup debuts for this season Rooney, Gabriel Heinze, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mikael Silvestre.

With Chelsea it was 'stick with what you know'. Of the starting XI, only Eidur Gudjohnsen and Paulo Ferreira didn't make an appearance in their second round defeat of Fulham.

The question remains, however, did Ferguson field an almost full-strength side out of a desire to win something this season? Or was it because the Conference side gave him such a fright he felt he needed to treat even the Carling Cup with more respect than in recent years to prove United's dominance of the game?

One thing Manchester United definitely have over their rivals is their youth policy. Of the players on the pitch at Stamford Bridge last night, Irish international John O'Shea, Phil Neville and Darren Fletcher plus second-half substitute Paul Scholes have been at the club from youth level.

Chelsea, however, with their bottomless funds, don't seem to need a youth policy. As a result, last night they could only call Terry truly one of their own.

Not that the Londoners have bought badly. Ferguson would harp on about how Chelsea's bench alone including new arrival Jiri Jarosik, who made his debut after 74 minutes added up to over £50m, despite the fact he spent half that amount on Rooney.

But most neutrals would agree they have bought wisely. And when you can bring on the likes of Didier Drogba at half-time who's going to quibble?

The players Chelsea have brought in have gelled. Lampard and his old West Ham mate Joe Cole linked together like they play every day, not the 11 times they have started the same game this season. The pair could have had a goal early on in the match, when Cole, in an auxiliary striker's role, flicked back for Lampard, who found the head of O'Shea rather than the back of the net.

And both could have had a goal early in the second-half, but for some wayward shooting by Cole and a goal-line clearance by Heinze to deny Lampard.

It may be worth remembering that while it's easy to buy as many players as you like, it's another thing to build a side that works together and makes a good fist of loosening United's hold on the English game.

CHELSEA: Cudicini, Paulo Ferreira, Terry, Gallas, Bridge, Lampard, Makelele, Tiago (Kezman 66), Cole (Jarosik 75), Gudjohnsen (Drogba 45), Duff.

MAN UTD: Howard, Phil Neville, Silvestre, O'Shea, Heinze, Ronaldo (Smith 90), Fletcher, Djemba-Djemba (Scholes 61), Fortune, Saha, Rooney.

Referee: N Barry