Johnson stuck broadly with the nucleus of squad in place under his predecessor Brian Ashton, but the absence of established names such as Johnny Wilkinson and Phil Vickery through injury and the injection of exciting new blood including Harlequins scrum half Danny Care, London Irish wing sensation Topsy Ojo and dynamic Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley has sparked a giddy sense of anticipation.

In Vickery’s absence, Bath lock Steve Borthwick, an ever present in this season’s Six Nations campaign, will assume the mantle of captaincy. It caps a remarkable turn around for Borthwick, who failed to make England’s World Cup Final squad in October. Arguably the canniest line-out operator in the business, Borthwick’s fierce commitment is sure to be a determining factor in Auckland and Wellington next month.

Dylan Hartley has also come back from the brink, although the youngster darkest days were more self inflicted than those of his captain. Last year he was banned for six months for eye-gouging in a game for relegation threatened Northampton against Wasps.

By his own admission, Hartley was a bit of a “loose unit”. In an interview with Brendan Gallagher in the Daily Telegraph, the New Zealand born hooker explains how he sought help from forensic psychiatrist Steve Peters, the man who psychologically profiled Ian Huntley for the Soham murders investigation. An impressive run of performances from Hartley have helped Northampton regain their Premiership place and he will be a vital unknown quantity this summer.

Robert Kitson rightly urges a degree of caution in his Guardian Unlimited blog. He draws light on the often forgotten fact Johnson has never picked a club side before. However, he commends his knowledge of the game as second to none, stating “his strength, for now, is that he knows precisely who the best players in the country are.”

Drawing attention to the impressive rugby on display in the closing weeks of the Guinness Premiership and the potential of England’s new look front five to cause New Zealand some problems, Kitson not without justification in stating Johnson’s men can make life difficult for the All Blacks who are currently going through a transitional phase themselves.

In his Sunday Times column, former England international Stuart Barnes agreed with Kitson that England have a chance next month and urged Johnson to be bold in his selections. It is a measure of Johnson’s unquenchable drive and ambition when Barnes states a series defeat would be a major disappointment for the 2003 World Cup winning captain.

Kitson and Barnes’ depiction of an England side embarking on an upward curve and an All Blacks outfit in the first throws of decline, without colossal figures such as Chris Jack, Aaron Mauger and Luke McAllister, is an accurate one. The prospect of a Care and the prodigious talent of Danny Cipriani combining in the half-back positions is truly mouth-watering.

However the fact remains that England have been painfully inconsistent for the best part of five years. They got to the 2007 World Cup Final despite this inconsistency, not because they overcame it. Sides better equipped than this current crop have headed to New Zealand with high hopes, only to have their reputations savaged.

If England were to return from the southern hemisphere victorious, it would rank as their finest achievement since they were captained by a certain talismanic second row forward.

UEFA: The Party Begins cried the excited banner headline. Over 100,000 all singing, all dancing Rangers fans were in town, lapping up the early summer sunshine along with generous helpings of the amber nectar.

And Manchester, as a concurrent football and party city was the perfect setting for all of this. The beautiful game is about more than two 45 minute halves. It’s about the social and emotional experience around it, the celebration of common humanity that make 22 blokes kicking a bag of air around so important. The locals and the unexpected flood of visitors from Glasgow were a match made in heaven.

Manchester Chambers of Commerce expects the Rangers fans to have brought between ten and 20 million pounds into the local economy. Profits for bars are through the roof and ever hotel room in the city is full. There was no room at the inn. If local businesses had adopted a terrace chant for the occasion, it would have been “can you play here every week”

A news video on the MEN website closed with the thought that “which ever team is victorious tonight, Manchester has certainly come away a winner.”

As if to truly test such sentiments, Zenit had the bare faced cheek to run out deserved 2-0 winners.

Unfortunately, by the time referee Peter Frojdfeldt’s final whistle sealed the Russian’s triumph, the Manchester love-in had already turned sour.

Earlier, one of the big screens laid on by Manchester City Council for the thousands of Rangers fans without match tickets broke down. With no where to watch the match of the season, the Rangers faithful were understandably disappointed and angry. However, the numbskulled clashes with police, hurling of missiles and sporadic outbreaks of violence that continued throughout the night thereafter were completely unacceptable.

There had been 30 arrests by the time a bleary, damaged morning broke. Most sickeningly, one Russian supporter was stabbed outside the City of Manchester Stadium.

So where did it all go wrong? The combination of broken big screens and a dreary Rangers display on the pitch are the obvious answers.

However, the Rangers invasion bore one similarity with the brainless British hooligan exploits of the 1970s and 1980s from the moment it arrived – namely the omnipresence of the Union Flag.

It is truly unfortunate the sight of the Irish, Welsh or (ironically) Scottish flag can lift ones spirits in a celebration of heritage, while witnessing those draped in the Union Flag often means reflecting upon its latest unfortunate outing in the name of mindless violence.

A large number of Rangers fans broadly  accept a general ideology of unitary British nationalism. When pushed to it’s extremities beyond basic national pride, this ideology is often intolerant, blindly superior and vulgar.

The dated images of an all powerful Britannia still resonate along the sectarian divides of Glasgow football. Yes, Catholics are allowed to represent Rangers today, but unionism remains a central to the identity of the club’s faithful.

“No surrender to the IRA” has been bellowed frequently across Manchester’s public places over the last two days. As have “Rule Britannia” and the national anthem. These are also staples when the English national team departs for sunnier climbs. And we all know the habit of those occasions ending in police baton and CS gas induced tears.

On a train journey from Preston with a group of Rangers fans the day before the game, I was treated to an array of historically informed “football” chants charting the noble deeds of William of Orange, the Battle of the Boyne and the Ulster Voluntary Force.

Oscar Wilde once wrote “patriotism is the virtue of the vicious”. Unfortunately, some Rangers supporters have shown this to be the case.

England’s cricketers begin their summer with a three match series against Daniel Vettori’s New Zealand. The home side are expected to win easily and use the series as a stepping stone towards the more taxing challenge of South Africa’s visit later in the year.

And with an Ashes summer just one year away, world champions Australia are never far from anybody’s thoughts

Head coach Peter Moores recently celebrated his 1 year anniversary of taking up the England post and, as Angus Fraser writes in the Independent, the former Sussex man wants his side to “impose themselves on New Zealand as they attempt to reclaim their position as the second best Test team in the world” with a “vibrant and aggressive” approach to their cricket.

As for the team itself, England are unchanged from the side that won back to back tests to secure a 2-1 series victory over the Black Caps in March. The only minor tweak comes as Andrew Strauss reverts to his familiar role at the top of the order while out of form skipper Michael Vaughan takes up the No3 position.

The series is a particularly poignant one for Strauss. Four years ago against the same opposition, he scored a hundred on test debut and went on to establish himself as a key member of the 2005 Ashes winning England team.

However, a severe loss of form in 2007 resulted in him losing his place in the side. He was recalled against New Zealand last winter and the results were unimpressive until he hit a battling, career best 177 in the final Test.

Earlier this week, Strauss, who was once unfortunately labeled the “David Cameron of cricket”, told the Guardian’s Donald McRae that his time in the international wilderness made him shudder with thoughts of the “real world” and life beyond the boundary rope. Perhaps a couple more three figure scores this summer will cement his position in the sporting Bullingdon Club that is Test Match cricket. 

It may not warm Strauss’ cockles to learn that his opening partner Alastair Cook spoke this week of how he will miss opening the innings with Vaughan.

“I admit that I will miss batting with Michael Vaughan - and particularly the lordly way that he caresses the ball through the covers,” Cook gushed in his column for the Daily Telegraph.

Beyond the bizarre love triangle at the top of the order, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood give England’s engine room a familiar look.

“I’ve had a pretty good 12 months but I want to convert more 50s into really big 100s,” Bell told the BBC. Indeed, for a player of his undeniably quality, his conversion rate of seven centuries from 25 fifties at Test level is a major bugbear for England supporters. Scores of 41, 62, 43 and 48 for Warwickshire this year will lead many to believe that Bell’s bold words will remain unfulfilled.

Tim Ambrose holds on to the wicketkeeping gloves following a promising start to his test career last winter, even though national selector Geoff Miller admitted to the BBC that Chris Read, the generally accepted best gloveman in the country who is held back by appearing to bat with a tooth pick when ever he pulls on an England shirt, may still have a future at international level.

The bowling attack will be led by the affable, shaggy haired Ryan Sidebottom. Many an eyebrow was raised when the journeyman seamer won an England recall against the West Indies last summer, but twelve Test matches and 53 wickets later he has become England’s spearhead.

In Tuesday’s Guardian, Paul Weaver wrote warmly of how Sidebottom is a fine example to those cricketers who feel they are perpetually lumbering along the county treadmill.

Stuart Broad retains his place in the seam attack as a reward for the steady progress that is allowing him to realise his boundless potential.

Steady progress has rarely been associated with Broad’s fellow quick, James Anderson. Jekyll and Hyde performances have dogged the stop-start international career of arguably England’s most gifted bowler.

“I feel I have the talent to be in the top ten in the world in both forms of the game. I have been around the side for five years now, so it is about time I started doing it,” Anderson bullishly told Richard Hobson of the Times. Few who witnessed his 5-73 haul against New Zealand in Wellington two months ago would argue with this statement. But, like Bell, his prodigious talent must now be turned into hard statistics on a regular basis.

Cult-hero Monty Panesar will occupy the final spot in the team with his entertaining combination of spin wizardry and music hall fielding.

After a difficult eighteen months, England seem to have a settled side in place, which is no bad thing considering the tough assignments that lie ahead. With the talismanic Andrew Flintoff waiting in the wings for the South Africa series, and the likes of Ravi Bopara giving the selectors welcome headaches, this just could be a summer to remember. A summer when the feelgood factor might return to English cricket.

In 2004, England beat New Zealand at Lords to begin an eight match winning streak. A little over a year later, they were lifting the ashes. Who says lightning can’t strike twice?

Alongside the orange chicken stock, red beef stock and green vegetable stock, there is now a blue Oxo cube – laughing stock

You see, this is rib-crackingly funny because Manchester City wear blue

This season, City have recorded their record points total for a 38 game Premier League season, taken six points off their bitter and illustrious rivals United for the first time in 38 years and, albeit through the back door of the Fair Play League, are set to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

After decades of perpetual underachievement, City’s stock should riding high - but frankly they’ve rarely looked more ridiculous.

Just over a fortnight ago, Sven Goran Eriksson’s men had risen out of a late season slump with back to back wins against Sunderland and Portsmouth and were cruising 2-0 up at home to Fulham. A triumphant end to the Swede’s debut season beckoned, and a top six finish was still a possibility.

But then City did what they’ve always done best – they imploded.

Fulham, on the brink of relegation, rallied to score three goals in a frantic final twenty minutes Despite having enough chances to win two games, the Blues went down to a 3-2 defeat. Watching owner and deposed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was not impressed. And why wouldn’t he be – it was a retched way to lose a football game. Most City fans were at best jolly ticked off.

However, things got silly. In a succession of meetings after the Fulham match, Shinawatra reportedly told Eriksson he had no future at City beyond the end of the season. On the Monday, Eriksson told his bewildered playing staff as much and they openly discussed the possibility of going on strike.

Eriksson’s agent Atole Still and trusty assistant Tord Grip told the media it was unlikely their man would be in Manchester for the punishing slog of pre-season training. All the while, Sven remained tight lipped.

These bleak murmurings took place against a backdrop of fervent fan support for Eriksson. Mass protests were organised, 20,000 signed a petition imploring Shinawatra to change his mind and 97 per cent of respondents to a poll on the Manchester Evening News website said Sven should stay. The paper even launched their own “Save our Sven” campaign, complete with an altogether frightening Eriksson mask (which looked like a cross between a Scream mask and Hannibal Lector) to be worn in support of the boss.

At this point, things were bleak, but at least the fans could proudly claim a principled common front that was fighting for the good of their club.

This was all too simple so the delicately woven fabric that is Manchester City decided to unravel some more.

The fans bellowed their support for Eriksson during City’s next game, away at Liverpool. This included surely the first example of a Pink Floyd record being immortalised in football song.

The Blues response was a lackluster 1-0 defeat at Anfield.

The following week, Eriksson reportedly met with officials from Portuguese club Benfica in his plush hotel suite discuss becoming their new manager.

Even if he has been treated in a shabby manner, Eriksson remains under contract and should not have done this. Throughout the turbulent events of the previous week, he had dealt from a strong position of integrity and class. Now he’d clumsily fallen off the moral high ground and City fans no longer knew who to trust.

The tin hat was duly applied this weekend, when, in a display of the darkest slapstick, City capitulated to an 8-1 defeat away against a mighty Middlesbrough side who had failed to score more than two goals in any game this season before this obscene rout.

On the same day, Manchester United clinched their tenth Premier League title. City’s magnificent 2-1 victory at Old Trafford three months previously seemed a lifetime ago. The respect so deservingly won that day and during an impressive start to the season had vanished. The blue Oxo cub had returned.

The fans were perplexed. It’s hard to vocally support a manager who has led your team to such a drubbing. Maybe Thaksin was right? They no longer knew what to hope for or believe in, except maybe nothing. 

 Today, the circus continues as City embark on their post-season tour of Thailand with Eriksson still at the helm. Amid the confusion, the M.E.N’s stoic support for Eriksson has been replaced by tentative reflection.

Despite a disappointing end to the season and some questionable moves in the transfer market, the former England boss has laid some impressive foundations at Eastlands and he should be allowed the chance to finish the job he has started – the arduous task of restoring City to something like their former and distant glories.

However, this is not the way of the big business behemoth that is the Premier League.

This booming industry of billion pound television deals has attracted some obscenely rich and, shall we say, “colourful” characters. Billionaires such as Shinawatra, Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and the loving, hating and yee har-ing odd couple of George Gillett and Tom Hicks at Liverpool, cherish the clubs they own like they do their numerous cars, yachts and property investments.

For the fans, the lifeblood of football, it is wincingly painful to see their beloved teams reduced to a rich man’s play thing.

All of the owners mentioned above have either undermined or fired highly regarded coaches thought, by footballing convention, to be doing sterling jobs for their sides. In a climate of those with apparently little knowledge holding the majority of power, it comes as little surprise that the football writing fraternity has come out on the side of Eriksson.

This not necessarily through any fondness for the man from Torsby, but through a love for the game they felt they once knew so well.

When the news of Eriksson’s impending departure broke over a fortnight ago, Henry Winter, chief football writer for the Daily Telegraph, nailed his colours to the mask, stating in an impassioned article that Shinawatra was not fit to run Manchester City. Winter states talks of a shrewd and impressive spell of management from Eriksson that has won the support of City fans, but concludes grimly that the opinions of these lowly foot soldiers count for little nowadays.

Last Tuesday, the Daily Express ran a piece from Harry Harris, where the Richard Bevan, the Chief Executive of the League Managers Association, Richard Bevan bemoans the “nonsense treatment that Eriksson has been subjected to. He talks of using government regulation to bring rogue owners into line.

In the Guardian, David Conn called into question the integrity of City fans who have only now developed problems with a man who boasts an appalling human rights record as Thai Prime Minister. This is a valid point, but one that simply proves money has come to speak louder than anything in the game, including its conscience.

“He can buy us world class players and get us into the Champions League! So what if he killed a load of drug dealers without trial?” This is a regrettable truism of conversations between Manchester City fans, and placed in the same position, one fears other clubs would not be any different.

This rich man’s game will continue to benefit those at the top table, with access to the best players and the most money, while the chasing also-rans such as City are likely to remain embroiled in farce, chasing an impossible dream. For them the money can buy very good players, pay off a succession of managers and buy a lifetime supply of Oxo cubes.