It was inevitable someone had to be made scapegoat following Manchester City's defeat to Tottenham on Tuesday night.
Defeat in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg has left Pep Guardiola's side with it all to do when they host next week, and supporters will be expecting much more from their team ahead of the tie.
In particular many fans will be hoping Fabian Delph does not retain his role at left-back after his uncomfortable showing on Tuesday night, but was the defeat really his fault?
In terms of pivotal moments in the match Sergio Aguero's penalty miss was just as harrowing, however his legacy as the club's record scorer appears to have pardoned him from such conversation.
Likewise there were many supporters baffled by Guardiola's team selection, something which hindsight emphatically outlined by the full-time whistle.
So many times before City's line up raised eyebrows before criticism has then been blown away by a phenomenal team performance and it seems a little absurd that some critics have used the defeat as a manner to undermine Guardiola's entire coaching integrity.
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Yet there is no ignoring the facts, and of the six games City have lost this season Delph has started in five of them. Obviously the 29-year-old can't be pinpointed as the sole contributor to each loss, but his falling stature at the club is clear to see.
Although individual errors have overshadowed some impressive displays, it is also City's transfer dealings which have contributed to his uncomfortable showing this week.
City knew from the end of last season that despite his sporadic brilliance Benjamin Mendy still needed a genuine understudy at the club, something which has been overlooked.
If City truly want to be considered the best team in Europe then they must assemble a squad which isn't over reliant on any player when they reach the last eight of the Champions League.
Man City star's injury scare proves Pep Guardiola's Quadruple hopes are hanging by slender threadsSympathy is warranted for the manner in which Delph was selected. Although he is still an England international, he was the only feasible option to fulfill the role earlier in the week.
Some had argued that Aymeric Laporte should have been moved to full-back, but sacrificing the best central defender was simply not an option, particularly against a team which had started with Harry Kane upfront.
The feeble goal might well be pinpointed as a Delph error, but City's failure to recruit another versatile in the past two transfer windows contributed too.
Indeed this could be the final season Delph spends at the club, but he deserves more respect for the role he has already played in their return to the very top of English football.
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