It was to get worse. Eriksson’s contract was terminated and the FA opted to return to an English manager. Step forward Steve McClaren, whose CV included one Carling Cup victory and the mild-success of turning Middlesbrough into a steady mid-table team.

McClaren failed to qualify for Euro 2008 after a 3-2 Wembley defeat to Croatia, and the Wally with the Brolly packed his bags for Dutch side FC Twente.

The FA, learning from their mistake, returned to the continent and brought in incredibly decorated Italian Fabio Capello.

Don Fabio set about making his mark on English football and England cruised to World Cup 2010 qualification – exacting revenge on the Croatians in the process.

At club level, English clubs continued to dominate the Champions League, and 2005 started a run of five consecutive seasons with an English club in the final.

Firstly, Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan in a shootout. A year later, Arsenal were beaten by Barcelona while 2007 witnessed the second Milan – Liverpool final in three years, only with a different outcome.

In 2008, Manchester United met Chelsea in the first ever all-English final. The Old Trafford came out on top in a shootout after a 1-1 draw. United returned in 2009, only to be outclassed by an in-form Barcelona side.

In the Premiership, Roman Abramovich’s millions paid off as Chelsea stormed to two Premier League titles in a row before a slightly irked Manchester United decided they didn’t like finishing second or third and retained the trophy for the following three years.

In tennis, Roger Federer continued his domination of the men’s game, winning it in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, with a runners-up medal in 2008 after succumbing to Rafael Nadal in one of the most anticipated matches in the sport’s history.

And the women’s game wasn’t much different, with the Williams sisters seemingly taking it turn to win at SW19.

But the most important emergence of the second-half of the decade was that of Scot Andy Murray. Henman Hill quickly became Murray Mound and the British had someone new to shout about.

At just 22 years old, Murray has made a glittering start to his career, reaching five ATP Masters Series finals, winning four, and progressing to the 2008 US Open final where he was beaten by Federer.

Murray finishes the decade ranked World Number 4, but has spent a number of weeks ranked 2 and 3 – making him the highest ranked Brit since Fred Perry in the thirties.

But the last word must be about Federer, who met American Andy Roddick in the 2009 Wimbledon final. A-Rod had Federer on the ropes before the Swiss star did what he’s done so effortlessly all these years by swooping to snatch a 16-14 victory in a thrilling five-set epic.

The victory was the 28-year-old’s 15^th Grand Slam, overtaking America’s Pete Sampras and becoming the most decorated man in tennis history.

In athletics, Britain’s first victory was in 2005 when London won a two-way fight with Paris by 54 votes to 50 at the IOC meeting in Singapore, after bids from Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated.

On the back of this news, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were also a huge success for Great Britain.

One of the surprise stories of the 2008 Olympics was swimmer Rebecca Adlington who won two gold medals. Her 400m freestyle success was Britain's first Olympic swimming title since 1988, and the first swimming gold by a British woman since 1960.

Her second gold, in the 800m freestyle, meant she also equalled the best performance by a British woman, from any sport, at the summer Olympics and was the best swimming performance by a Briton at the Olympics for 100 years.

In cycling, Chris Hoy became Scotland's most successful Olympic competitor ever and the first Brit to win three gold medals at a single Olympic games since Henry Taylor in 1908.

Also part of Team GB was 14-year-old Devonian Tom Daley, the 2008 European 10m champion and one of the youngest athletes to ever compete for Great Britain at an Olympics.

The nation went into the 2000 European Championships full of high hopes which were immediately stalled by an opening match defeat to Portugal. Five days later and victory over Germany had the country believing again, but all hopes were quickly dashed when a trailing Phil Neville leg earned Romania a penalty to knock Kevin Keegan’s side out at the first hurdle. France went on to win, adding to their World Cup triumph two years previously.

Keegan retired and the FA brought in the national team’s first ever foreign manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson. The Swede led England through qualification for the 2002 World Cup which included the team’s second finest hour; a 5-1 demolition of the Germans in Munich. Again hopes were high going into the tournament, but England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil.

Eriksson’s men were also eliminated in the last-eight stage of Euro 2004, where this time a penalty shootout defeat to Portugal – soon to become a recurring theme – was the downfall. Surprise package Greece went on to win the tournament, and in doing so became the first team to ever knock-out the holders and the hosts in the same championships.

Back at home, Manchester United continued their dominance of the Premiership by adding the 2000 and 2001 titles to their trophy cabinet. Having already won the league in 1999, Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three successive English league campaigns.

Liverpool, meanwhile, managed a unique cup treble, winning the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Eager to not be outdone, Arsenal also added their name to the record books, going the whole of the 2003/04 season without losing a single league game – the first time this feat had been achieved in the modern era.

In the same season, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea in a move which would later see the West Londoners gatecrash Manchester United and Arsenal’s Premier League domination.

In Europe, Real Madrid added to their Champions League dominance by winning two more titles, while Porto – under the guidance of outspoken soon-to-be-Chelsea manager José Mourinho – were the surprise winners in 2004.

In tennis, the first half of the decade saw one era of domination end and another begin. In 2000, American Pete Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon title in eight years before adding the 2002 US Open to end his impressive CV of 14 Grand Slam titles.

Pistol Pete’s retirement paved the way for a young player named Roger Federer. The Swiss right-hander began his blitzing of every title in his sights with the 2003 Wimbledon title.

As for Great Britain’s court stars, one man held the key and Tim Henman had the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders. Henman had already reached the semi-finals in 1998 and 1999, but ran into an unbeatable Sampras on both occasions. Tiger Tim reached the semi-finals again in 2001 and 2002, but lost to wildcard Goran Ivanišević and Lleyton Hewitt – both eventual winners in those years.

The women’s game also saw a distinct shift in power with the emergence of the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who dominated both the women’s singles and doubles for much of the decade.

The athletics world kicked off the decade in spectacular fashion with the Sydney Olympics, only the second time the Games had been held in the southern hemisphere.

Australian runner Catherine Freeman began proceedings with the lighting of the torch and ended the Games by becoming the first athlete of Aborigine descent to become Olympic champion, taking gold in the 400m.

America’s media darling Marion Jones also stormed the track, winning an unprecedented three gold and two bronze medals. Jones would later relinquish this achievement after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

Four years later, the Games returned to their spiritual home of Athens. The Great Britain team put on a good show for the audience back home, bringing home 30 medals in total.

Notable achievements include Kelly Holmes who won gold in the 800m and 1500m and Matthew Pinsent who became Olympic rowing champion for the fourth time in a row – a record only topped by former team-mate Steve Redgrave.

The Games also saw the emergence of Bolton-born boxer Amir Khan, who won silver in Athens before going on to become WBO World Light-Welterweight champion.

The Games weren’t without disappointment and scandal though. World record holder Paula Radcliffe spectacularly crashed out of the Marathon while Greek sprinters Konstantinos Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou withdraw from the games after allegedly staging a motorcycle accident in order to avoid a drugs test.

Am I the only one who feels sorry for the French captain?

When Henry eventually hangs up his boots he will still be remembered as one of the finest French players of all time. Wednesday’s incident will come to represent nothing but a small blot on the copy book of an immense career, conducted for the most part with grace and intelligence.

The purveyors of the knee jerk scattergun character assassinations should be ashamed of themselves. When the furor eventually dies down and some perspective is realised, some of Henry’s former team mates will look back in embarrassment at their so-called ‘punditry’.

Yes, Thierry cheated. No one is contesting that he handled the ball twice in the lead up to one of the most important goals in French football history. It is generally accepted that the handball was an act of instinct and not some premeditated act of foul play. But the protestations are due to the fact he didn’t immediately confess to the referee. Whilst admirable, such incidents are incredibly rare. And the regularly lauded examples of Fowler and Di Canio occurred in matches with a far lower profile.

The truth is that Thierry Henry is only guilty of a lack of courage and perspective. As William Gallas reeled away in celebration, the Barcelona man failed to take responsibility for his actions. But in all honesty, how many players would genuinely have argued against the goal amidst the adrenaline, intensity and huge national relief?

To be accused of ‘damaging the image of football’ and compared to Diego Maradona, is yet again indicative of a sporting media that has no interest in the middle-ground. Throughout his career Henry has promoted the image of the game far more than most of his peers, and lest we forget that Maradona did not openly admit his mistake, but rather referred to it as the ‘Hand of God’.

In a press conference today, Henry addressed the issue appropriately and apologetically, by admitting embarrassment for his mistake and suggesting that a replay would be the ‘fairest solution’. Although this is unlikely, how about some credit for the French striker’s honesty and responsibility? And dare I say it, but how about some forgiveness?

The best that can come from this incident is the long-overdue use of video evidence during top level football matches. Whilst cricket and tennis have successfully embraced the advantages of modern technology, football stubbornly refuses to move out of the Stone Age. If anything should be blamed for Ireland’s World Cup exit, it is FIFA’s perennial feet dragging on the whole issue.

In tennis, the challenge system gives a player the right to appeal umpire decisions three times in a set. There is no reason why the captain of a football team should not have the same right of appeal. By providing each team three opportunities to challenge penalty box incidents per match, you could make Wednesday’s debacle a thing of the past. Robbie Keane would simply have called on the fourth official to review the footage and the goal would have been disallowed.

With one team’s World Cup dream already shattered, it’s time for FIFA to act now.

Whilst they have hardly charmed the football purists with their aggressive transfer policy, their Arsenal-style disposal of Arsenal should have been a big step towards some positive PR. Sadly, the headlines were made for altogether different reasons.

But looking past the fleeting controversy surrounding a certain Togolese striker, Saturday’s benchmark performance raises an important question... What does long-term success look like for Manchester City?

For the answer, I would ask Roman Abramovich.

In spite of two league titles, the Russian’s vast investment has failed to reap the dividends he had hoped for. A haul of domestic trophies may have been enough appease Chelsea’s success-starved fans, but it barely scrapes the owner’s long term expectations.

For an investment approaching a billion pounds, Roman Abramovich has every right to wonder just what went wrong. The plan was to make Chelsea an internationally admired super-brand, but six years on he finds himself at a club reviled by governing bodies, disliked by the press and despised by neutrals.

Much of the disdain stems from the idea that Chelsea have bought their success; a cross Man City are bearing even before challenging for honours. But in time the investment of Sheikh Mansour will reap trophies and then the real challenge of removing this stigma will begin.

In order to succeed, Man City will need to add an ingredient which has always been missing at Stamford Bridge. Football which captivates and captures the imagination of neutrals.

Although Man City’s emotionally charged victory over Arsenal demonstrated what they are capable of as an attacking force, it’s worth remembering that their other victories this season have been solid unremarkable performances. In Mark Hughes, they have a manager who will develop a side primarily built for results. This backbone and resilience is the foundation for any degree of success in English football. Just ask Alex Ferguson or José Mourinho.

Arsenal may have won a lot of admirers over the last few years, but they haven’t won a trophy since 2005. What they wouldn’t give now for a combative spoiler in the mould of Nigel de Jong? Add the determination of Barry, Tévez and Lescott and we see a team developing very much in the mould of the manager. Mark Hughes might not be the most obvious choice for a club with such astronomical expectations, but by keeping him on the owners may have pulled off a masterstroke.

It would have been all too easy to bring in a high-profile manager and a parade of Robinho style marquee players this summer. But in Hughes, Man City’s owners have held on to a shrewd operator who will get results. They might not play blistering football this season, but they have a great chance of breaking the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

And what of the entertaining football? The long suffering faithful won’t care less about ‘Brand Man City’ if they win the league. But one suspects the owners will eventually expect Barcelona-style football lighting up European nights at Eastlands.

If their vast financial clout is combined with a degree of patience, Man City could just succeed where Chelsea have failed. In Robinho, Wright-Phillips and Stephen Ireland they already have players who can illuminate a big occasion, and where better to start than in the back yard of bitter rivals Man United on Sunday.

Twelve months on and John Terry is now the subject of rabid speculation, with mega rich Man City preparing a £35 million bid for the England captain. As with Lampard, Terry’s devotion to the club has never previously been called into question. However, the headline writers continue to insist he has more than a passing interest in the move.

Predictably, most of what has been written is nothing short of sensationalist nonsense. The only truth is that Man City’s most recent offer was rejected out of hand by Chelsea. Cue an awful lot of reading between the lines into Terry’s state of mind, the thoughts of ‘insiders’ and why he will be wearing a different shade of blue next season.

With Sheikh Mansour allegedly willing to double Terry’s current wage, it would be naive to suggest that there is no financial edge to the story. But it’s also wholly patronising to suggest he is merely using the interest as leverage to bolster his Stamford Bridge wage packet. As contract negotiations open with Chelsea, isn’t the fact he is the club’s finest defender of all time enough of a bargaining position?

Money is a factor, but the likelihood is that Terry is merely seeking parity with the club’s top earners. Not quite as dramatic as the speculators would have you believe, but who could really blame him? Approaching 29, this is the most important contract of his career and he is just as vital to the club as Ballack and Lampard who currently earn more than him.

If Terry has any genuine interest in the transfer, it has far more to do with both his and Chelsea’s ambitions. With the greatest respect to Man City’s lofty aspirations, they are merely the third cog in this wheel.

Shortly after Carlo Ancelotti was announced as Chelsea’s new manager Terry suggested the signings of David Villa and Franck Ribery would help the club push for the major honours it has narrowly missed out on over the past three seasons. It’s clear he is deeply ambitious, but then that’s hardly news to anyone who has watched him play over the last decade. During this time Chelsea have never failed to match his ambition.

But since his call for big money signings, Chelsea have only acquired Yuri Zhirkov and Daniel Sturridge. And when Terry returned from pre-season training last week there was still no hint of a marquee signing. Ironically, in spite of being the world’s richest club his proposed suitors have suffered a similar fate in the transfer market. With Samuel Eto’o the latest A-list player to reject their advances, it is clear that Man City are still some way from becoming a major European force.

It is not inconceivable that it could take the Manchester club another three years to mount a sustained challenge for the Premier League title, let alone the Champions League. By then John Terry would be 32 and possibly wondering what he might have achieved at Stamford Bridge.

If it does come down to pure personal ambition, then Terry will do well to sit tight at Chelsea. Regardless of who they might add to their ranks this summer, they have an exceptional opportunity to regain the Premier League title next year. Following the departure of Tevez and Ronaldo, they face a significantly weakened Man United, whilst Liverpool will struggle to add any signings of note given their current financial predicament.

Last January, when Man City made their initial bid for the England captain he made it clear he was in absolute agreement with Chelsea’s decision to reject the offer. It’s worth remembering this was during the worst moments of Chelsea’s rapid decline under Luis Felipe Scolari. The only phase in the club’s recent history known to have profoundly rocked Terry.

Since then the club has stabilised, won the FA Cup and appointed one of the finest club coaches in Europe. If Terry was unbending in his loyalty during the crisis that came before, then one suspects he is probably just as committed now... in spite of what you might read.