I _think_ i may have gotten it solved. Perhaps if i'd read the instructions more carefully.
With one of the cracks i got, it came with the two german patches and the fixed EXE. The first patch wouldn't do anything but freeze at the end. The second patch would apply, giving you the new DLL (the one with the A in it).
From there, replacing the exe with the fixed EXE would give you the german language when you start it..
In frustration i did a bit of mucking around and tried the reloaded crack (second crack on the website that says it's compatible with all versions).
Low and behold i now get the english version!
So for those who wish to get their program running, its a bit of a run-around but it works. Sumarizing:
a) Install the English version of the game;
b) Apply the patch/s. In particular, the second one which adds the new DLL file;
c) Obtain Reloaded crack and apply that.
These instructions probably came with the crack itself, but at the time i had no way of getting the patch/s (didn't check here for them. Got them from eDonkey along with a german crack). Good luck to any others who end up with similar prob's.
Cheers!