Fans turn on goal-shy City

Manchester City 0, Birmingham 0
Manchester City assistant boss David Platt believes the negative reaction to his side's second goalless draw in four days merely emphasises how far the club has come.

The Blues were booed-off following their 0-0 stalemate with a Birmingham side who are now anchored in the bottom three in the Premier League.

Coming hot on the heels of the drab derby with United, it was too much for some supporters, who were particularly annoyed by manager Roberto Mancini's decision to replace crowd favourite Carlos Tevez with Gareth Barry 10 minutes before the end.

The boos did not come as a surprise to Platt. After all, he was experiencing the same emotions.

However, considering they came at a time when City were consolidating fourth spot in the Premier League, the former England skipper is not too downcast.

"It is a compliment to where this football club has come to," countered Platt.

It seems expectations are possibly rising faster than the ability of City's newly–assembled squad are able to meet them.

There is an element of mistrust about Mancini's tactics, with the general belief growing that, after a run of just one win in five league outings and no goals at home since early October, the Italian is being too negative.