Sustaining superiority over Manchester United is a feat very few clubs have achieved since the Premier League began but Chelsea have an opportunity this weekend to signal their intent to do precisely that.
Since losing the 2008 Champions League Final in the most agonizing of circumstances in Moscow, the Blues have lost only once to United — and that came in the dying throes of Luiz Felipe Scolari's turbulent regime in January last year.
Last season, Chelsea won the battle and the war with home and away League victories over their nearest rivals on the way to the first Double success in the club's history. It left Sir Alex Ferguson with plenty of time to contemplate the latest pretenders attempting to bring his Old Trafford dynasty to its knees once and for all.
Carlo Ancelotti could have done little more in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge and his challenge now is to translate a season of domestic success into European glory while maintaining English dominance.
To do that, Chelsea must keep United suppressed and victory at Wembley on Sunday would provide a timely reminder of exactly who rules the roost on these shores.
The Community Shield represents the metaphorical bridge between the informality of pre-season warm-ups and the fireball intensity of Premier League games.
Despite essentially encompassing little more than a glorified friendly, what gives this match an edge is firstly the setting but, more importantly, the fact it regularly pitches the two most prominent title contenders against one another.
Such is the rivalry created over many years that no label — Charity, Community or otherwise — will dampen the desire for one-upmanship.
“Over the years we have treated the game as a barometer for the players' fitness,” Ferguson once said of this game. “But when we play Chelsea the players' pride comes into it and they'll want to uphold that.”
And so the scene is set. The same two sides contested the Community Shield last year in a surprisingly entertaining encounter which served up four goals, a penalty shoot-out and plenty of contention.
Those in attendance will get their money's worth should Sunday approach anything akin to that, and there is a fair chance of fireworks given the shift in the balance of power over the past 12 months.
A number of beleaguered England players should find solace at Wembley — although probably not four days later when Hungary are in town — among the comforts of their clubs.
Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole can feel like winners again, safe in the knowledge that whatever the travails in South Africa, they remain pivotal and popular players in Chelsea blue.
The World Cup was in one sense kind to Chelsea, given that none of their players made it to the quarter-final stage and consequently their exertions were not as great as could have been reasonably anticipated.
For United, much once again depends on Wayne Rooney and his reaction to a summer that could have hardly gone worse. Although palpably unfit, Rooney's dismal showing for England — not one goal and at times he simply lost the ability to control a football — could not solely be explained by fatigue.
Whether the pressure that comes with his talismanic status got the better of him is debateable but in any event the return to his preferred role as a lone striker will suit him no end.
Rooney may well incur the wrath of those England fans desperate to vent their frustration but manager Ferguson has dealt with this before when David Beckham, and later Christiano Ronaldo, were targeted.
The key to United's durability under Sir Alex is a consistently impressive response to adversity.
The 68-year-old will no doubt dismiss the importance of the result, regardless of who wins, but there is the need to lay down a marker after a summer in which the club has been quieter on the transfer market than supporters would have liked.
Indeed, there is little to surprise either party, with Mexican striker Javier Hernandez the only high-profile acquisition on either side, although Ancelotti could be tempted to unleash the prodigal Gael Kakuta at a later stage.
There is little to be gained by drawing definitive conclusions from the merits of victory on Sunday.
While the last three winners have gone on to lift the League title, the wider picture dismisses any correlation. Since 1992, only six clubs were successful in both August and May. Superficially, Sunday will witness two sides continuing their pre-season preparations knowing a fast start is perhaps more important than ever given the strength of challengers at the top end of the table these days.
But a second successive Community Shield victory for Chelsea would provide the beginning to an irrefutable argument that last season's success was no fluke and show how high United must climb if they are to rise again.
Since losing the 2008 Champions League Final in the most agonizing of circumstances in Moscow, the Blues have lost only once to United — and that came in the dying throes of Luiz Felipe Scolari's turbulent regime in January last year.
Last season, Chelsea won the battle and the war with home and away League victories over their nearest rivals on the way to the first Double success in the club's history. It left Sir Alex Ferguson with plenty of time to contemplate the latest pretenders attempting to bring his Old Trafford dynasty to its knees once and for all.
Carlo Ancelotti could have done little more in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge and his challenge now is to translate a season of domestic success into European glory while maintaining English dominance.
To do that, Chelsea must keep United suppressed and victory at Wembley on Sunday would provide a timely reminder of exactly who rules the roost on these shores.
The Community Shield represents the metaphorical bridge between the informality of pre-season warm-ups and the fireball intensity of Premier League games.
Despite essentially encompassing little more than a glorified friendly, what gives this match an edge is firstly the setting but, more importantly, the fact it regularly pitches the two most prominent title contenders against one another.
Such is the rivalry created over many years that no label — Charity, Community or otherwise — will dampen the desire for one-upmanship.
“Over the years we have treated the game as a barometer for the players' fitness,” Ferguson once said of this game. “But when we play Chelsea the players' pride comes into it and they'll want to uphold that.”
And so the scene is set. The same two sides contested the Community Shield last year in a surprisingly entertaining encounter which served up four goals, a penalty shoot-out and plenty of contention.
Those in attendance will get their money's worth should Sunday approach anything akin to that, and there is a fair chance of fireworks given the shift in the balance of power over the past 12 months.
A number of beleaguered England players should find solace at Wembley — although probably not four days later when Hungary are in town — among the comforts of their clubs.
Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole can feel like winners again, safe in the knowledge that whatever the travails in South Africa, they remain pivotal and popular players in Chelsea blue.
The World Cup was in one sense kind to Chelsea, given that none of their players made it to the quarter-final stage and consequently their exertions were not as great as could have been reasonably anticipated.
For United, much once again depends on Wayne Rooney and his reaction to a summer that could have hardly gone worse. Although palpably unfit, Rooney's dismal showing for England — not one goal and at times he simply lost the ability to control a football — could not solely be explained by fatigue.
Whether the pressure that comes with his talismanic status got the better of him is debateable but in any event the return to his preferred role as a lone striker will suit him no end.
Rooney may well incur the wrath of those England fans desperate to vent their frustration but manager Ferguson has dealt with this before when David Beckham, and later Christiano Ronaldo, were targeted.
The key to United's durability under Sir Alex is a consistently impressive response to adversity.
The 68-year-old will no doubt dismiss the importance of the result, regardless of who wins, but there is the need to lay down a marker after a summer in which the club has been quieter on the transfer market than supporters would have liked.
Indeed, there is little to surprise either party, with Mexican striker Javier Hernandez the only high-profile acquisition on either side, although Ancelotti could be tempted to unleash the prodigal Gael Kakuta at a later stage.
There is little to be gained by drawing definitive conclusions from the merits of victory on Sunday.
While the last three winners have gone on to lift the League title, the wider picture dismisses any correlation. Since 1992, only six clubs were successful in both August and May. Superficially, Sunday will witness two sides continuing their pre-season preparations knowing a fast start is perhaps more important than ever given the strength of challengers at the top end of the table these days.
But a second successive Community Shield victory for Chelsea would provide the beginning to an irrefutable argument that last season's success was no fluke and show how high United must climb if they are to rise again.
