The Etihad was flat on Saturday - and it wasn't just the legs in midfield. The jury is out on whether this season is a blip or terminal decline for Pep Guardiola and his all-conquering Manchester City side, but an increasing number of supporters aren't sure they want to pay to find out as they wonder if what has gone from their matchday experience can be restored.
It isn't about not supporting City any more, just that going to the game isn't what it was. Blues who have sacrificed so much time, money, and occasions in their lives to follow City everywhere either can't do it any more - or don't feel that they want to.
They will be replaced in the ground - ticket sales have never been bigger or quicker for the club - and change is both inevitable and necessary. The modern-day City are light years away from the club they left at Maine Road in 2003, with decisions now having to service a global fanbase and generate as much money as possible in order to pay for the best players and staff in the world that keep the Blues as one of the best teams in football.
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It is also a situation that both extends to other football clubs and has been happening for a while. As neighbours United this week announced plans to turn seats behind the dugouts into a hospitality area, the pioneering Tunnel Club at the Etihad is in its eighth year and tickets for the visit of Aston Villa next month start at £900 - nearly four times the cheapest season ticket.
However, whatever positives come from football and City turned into entertainment that can and should attract tourists every week, it is worth asking what may be lost from this. For all that this is happening across the country, it hits particularly hard for fans who have been on the unique journey down to the third division and then up to become champions of Europe and the world in just 24 years.
City fans have seen it all, but it has come at an increasing cost. Pep Guardiola wants them to show up and give their loudest support every week yet decisions made by the club - from increasing prices to third-party sites not doing enough to make sure they sell to Blues - make it harder for them to do so.
Two of the biggest matches this season at the Etihad, coming just a few weeks apart, against Real Madrid and Liverpool saw unacceptable levels of opposition fans in the home ends, diluting the atmosphere and creating safety risks. One supporter sold his ticket back to the club for the latter fixture as he couldn't go, and when his son turned up for the game he found himself sat next to a man who had paid £300 on a third-party site and was waving a Uruguay flag in support of Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez.
As one fan put it: "There’s always going to be a few because that’s just how it happens, but the amount for Liverpool and Madrid... they’re coming in wearing their club colours - do you know how s*** that makes us all feel?
"You want to get the atmosphere going, you want to make it intimidating for the opposition and you look round and there’s a guy in a Liverpool hat or a Real Madrid shirt?"
To their credit, the club took action after those games and regularly police ticketing situations to try to ensure the best possible experience for everyone. They have worked with fan groups to work out the most sensible purchasing criteria before games, and have banned 165 accounts this season for touting with a further 354 suspended and 223 closely monitored.
Too many events in recent years though, including attempts to charge disabled supporters for parking for the first time at the Etihad before a fan and media backlash put a stop to it, have left some fans tired of fighting the change - especially because of the direction of travel . While an extended North Stand as part of a £300m redevelopment of the stadium had some dreaming of a 'Blue Wall' of raucous support, the new hotel that will be built on site raises the prospect of more tickets sold through package deals.
City rightly chase new fans all over the world as they look to stay at the top; Erling Haaland sent demand for tickets through the roof when he joined in 2022 and the January purchase of Abdukodir Khusanov has seen a steep surge in sales in Uzbekistan as a country with 35 million people flocking to see the first from their nation to play in the Premier League.
All success comes at a cost though, and for City that is being felt by fans a little closer to home.
The MEN will be taking a closer look at the ticketing issues around City over the coming days with a series of special reports. You won't miss any of them by joining our free WhatsApp group here or subscribing to our free newsletter service here.
