United have the squad to win a range of prizes

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For Manchester United to be hunting another treble 11 months after the Carling Cup was the only trophy to make its way to Old Trafford is a lesson in self-renewal, and one Chelsea may care to study. The unprecedented trio of League, Champions League and FA Cup triumphs 12 years ago was so freakish that few in these parts expected to ever have a sniff of it again.

The miraculous one-off is encased in the club museum. But may it have a brother soon? After their 3-1 aggregate victory over a fading Chelsea side all the songs were of trips to Wembley, the stage for this year's Champions League finale (28 May) and Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

This side may lack the glamour of the 1999 vintage or the star quality of 2008, when Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez lined up alongside Wayne Rooney. But it could hardly be more committed, more sure of itself. Its strength was expressed by the relentless foraging of Park Ji-sung, the Zen wisdom of Ryan Giggs, the eagerness of Javier Hernández and the restored vigour of Rooney, who has been reborn in the withdrawn striker role behind Chicharito.

"He's enjoying the position he's playing in at the moment because he has a lot of freedom to use his energy," Sir Alex Ferguson said of Rooney. It was astounding that United were able to consign Chelsea to shadow without needing to summon Dimitar Berbatov, a forward of sublime skill. Chelsea went into battle with Fernando Torres, who cost £50m and was hooked at half-time. United struck the first blow with Hernández, a £6m buy who makes Torres look geriatric.

The 1999 tale was meant to be unrepeatable. It still has that feel, given that Barcelona look unbeatable in Europe. People always said it could not be done again. Competition would be too intense. The calendar would grow too demanding for any side to prosper on three fronts again. Now a double treble beckons.

Seven points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League, United face a City team who lost 3-0 at Liverpool on Monday night and will be without Tevez when a whole metropolis decamps to London to help the Football Association pay for their monument to hubris.

Clearly this is no time to be jumping to conclusions about City's prospects in that derby or even the threat still posed by Arsenal in the league. But for United to be in this position at all affirms their talent for reinvention. The 1999 campaign remains the zenith but 2007-08 ran it close. In that honeyed season United defended their league title before defeating Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in Moscow.

In these spring days they have found a new strike combination to build a new age around. The leggy, high-stepping Hernández stretches the play with his sprints and Rooney links front and middle from the No10 position.

We are now on volume eight of the tactical study of Rooney's best role but maybe we can slam the book. With the fast-maturing Mexican to do most of his running England's No1 striker can see more of the attacking areas in front of him and make more creative use of space. He can veer left or right to work as an auxiliary winger.

The Rooney-Hernández duo is currently so vibrant that Berbatov can be left on the bench without it seeming wasteful. Chicharito's movement inflicted so much stress on Chelsea's defenders that John Terry decided an elbow was the only way to stop him. The England captain took him out with a jab of the arm in the 42nd minute, so Hernández responded by turning in an arcing Giggs ball 60 seconds later.

Chelsea had been forced by United's 1-0 away win at Stamford Bridge (and the £50m spent on Torres) to load the forward areas but there is no disguising the lethargy, the lack of conviction in Carlo Ancelotti's team.

As one good judge remarked the other day, Chelsea used to come over opponents in relentless blue waves. Not any more. An hour into this match, they were still groping for accuracy, for rhythm, as Ancelotti's reign approached the point of no return.

In a normal industry, scoring a League and FA Cup Double 11 months ago would keep you safe in your job, but this is football, this is Roman Abramovich, and all across this pitch there was evidence of Chelsea's staleness, their failure to renew and evolve. When a red card was shown for a foul on Nani it was one of the few fresh Chelsea talents who left the field: Ramires, the kind of bright young star Abramovich's lieutenants have been too slow to invest in.

This was a night of lunging tackles and desperate blocking by a side who just cannot cross the Rubicon of a first European title. Impeding their path, now, as in Moscow, are opponents who have mastered the skill of thinking two and three years ahead. Ferguson said: "I think we've hit form: the second half at West Ham, the performance at Chelsea, the performance here. It's a great boost." They all contribute at this restless, relentless club. Twelve years on, the treble is creeping out of its museum.

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A side that reach the heights have a clear view of all that lies so pleasingly before them. Manchester United's defeat of Chelsea in each leg of their Champions League quarter-final confirmed that this is a team glowing with authority as well as talent. The re-emergence is a small surprise since last season was marked by only the League Cup. The trophy was taken with victory over Aston Villa and the winner, in late February, was Wayne Rooney's 27th goal for the club in that campaign.

The forward may have rallied of late, but no one in the crowd counts on such abundance any longer and, more importantly, United themselves have not behaved as if they rely purely on him. Javier Hernández has adapted to English football at a startling rate. With Dimitar Berbatov also prolific when picked, there is a breadth to United's work that must make them suppose they can land a range of prizes.

Such expectations will be toned down by Sir Alex Ferguson exactly because they are feasible. A squad could find it all too easy to be mesmerised by its own hopes. The dangers ought to be recognised. Much as Chris Smalling has impressed in his first campaign with the club, it is still critical that the centre-backs Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic stay fit. By the same token, those of us who were originally disbelieving at the sight of Michael Carrick as the midfield kingpin now appreciate that the onus is on him to maintain such influence.

United are pondering a second treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup to complement the one secured a dozen years ago. There is also a counterbalancing attitude towards the longer term. Even as the side have begun to surge, comment has continued about the need for new and costly talent to arrive in the summer. It is a topic that reportedly made Rooney himself anxious when he sought investment in the squad as well as a large pay rise on his own behalf.

Ferguson's reconstruction has, all the same, been in progress for a while. No one calls this squad the best he has had but it is remarkably extensive. Nani has most likely been the club's best performer overall in this campaign, but he featured only as a substitute at Stamford Bridge, amid suggestions that the Champions League has been an area of underachievement for the winger.

The fact that Ferguson can afford to be so demanding underlines the scope he has to sideline those who awaken even small reservations in him. Everything could still go wrong, but the side have begun to show their insistent character. While away results have been moderate by United's standards, the recovery from 2-0 down to beat West Ham United at Upton Park underlined a rising desire in the team to impose their will even when events seem discouraging.

They are aided by the faltering of others. Ferguson can only be cheered when Arsène Wenger insists that Arsenal are confounding doubters merely by being in the top four. United are yet to go to the Emirates, but even a loss could be absorbed since these opponents still have the sort of flaw that can see them record a goalless draw on their own ground against Blackburn Rovers.

All in all, United have cause to be optimistic when perusing the fixture list. There are some obviously demanding games. Chelsea will crave to do some harm when they come back to Old Trafford in the Premier League. A match could go wrong anywhere, perhaps at Newcastle United on Tuesday, but the real doubt is whether anyone is equipped even to pretend that they are pursuing United in earnest.

It is more likely to be the knockout tournaments that make United heads ring. After a faintly dull campaign, Manchester City must at least ache to knock out Ferguson's men in the FA Cup semi-final, particularly since it is the one result that may vindicate Roberto Mancini's costly tenure at Eastlands. The Champions League presents a more overt menace. Schalke can scarcely be discounted after the trouncing of Internazionale at San Siro.

Bundesliga representatives have dismayed United before, with Bayern Munich doing so as recently as last season. This time around, though, the United players almost look as if they are getting fresher. Ferguson has begun to speak as if a range of injuries has been a boon since a few figures, including Antonio Valencia, act as if they are just coming out of pre-season.

Should Ferguson feel any disquiet about the stretch that lies ahead it must concern the Champions League. He will surely convince himself that the side merely slipped below the expected standard when beaten with no fuss at all by Barcelona in the 2009 final. An opportunity to rewrite that tale could be presented when the trophy is fought for at Wembley, depending on how Pep Guardiola's line-up fares against the Real Madrid of José Mourinho in the last four. That would remain the most exacting test for United, yet the realistic prospect of being part of such an occasion underlines the resurgence that is still growing in vigour.