By the end of August 2021, Manchester City were the laughing stock of the Premier League. Well, according to some critics, anyway.
The failure to even come close to signing Harry Kane from Tottenham left the Blues ruing their decision to put all of their eggs in one basket, while the whirlwind 48-hour period that had Cristiano Ronaldo interested in joining City, definitely joining City and finally definitely not joining City, left an unshakeable feeling that Pep Guardiola's side had been used as a pawn.
Predictably, City's detractors had a field day.
City are naive if they think they can retain their title without a recognised striker, came the cries in unison. The false nine system won't work forever, they'll get found out, said the armchair Guardiolas.
'They don't even have a left-back!' others pointed out.
For some, the problem lay with Guardiola; he just wasn't at the top anymore. Thomas Tuchel had found him out with three wins in the space of one month, the last coming in the Champions League final.
Liverpool endured a poor 2020/21, but with their injury crisis over and a summer to regroup, the high-pressing darlings of the media would be back to rip City limb from limb.
Lacklustre 1-0 defeats to Leicester City and Tottenham in the Community Shield and on the opening day of the Premier League season respectively did little to bolster City's already slim title hopes. After a run of high-scoring performances, the frustrating goalless draw with Southampton again seemed to vindicate the doubters' stance.
Fast forward three and a half months and City have apparently 'ruined' the title race.
A last-gasp win at Arsenal on New Year's Day - which I'll come onto shortly - coupled with the 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool the following day has given City a 10-point lead at the top of the table. Pretty remarkable stuff from a team that was meant to struggle without signing a striker, right?
Honestly, though, the striker debate is at the point of becoming nauseating now. City might be even better with an Erling Haaland or Harry Kane, or they might not be. Who knows.
What is interesting though is the lenses through which City are viewed depending on how their rivals are doing. A month ago everyone was gearing up for the greatest title race in recent memory, a fascinating three-way battle between elite sides built on differing ideologies.
Yet the suggestion appears to be that Chelsea and Liverpool falling away is City's fault. How dare Guardiola send his team out to go and win football matches!
The reality is that Chelsea have drawn five of their last six home league games, while Liverpool are now winless in three.
City are to blame because unlike their rivals they have had no injury problems (false), they haven't been affected by Covid-19 (again, false) and because they have a huge squad (17 senior outfield players is less than what Liverpool and Chelsea can call upon).
Martin Keown and Steve McManaman exemplified the point at the weekend. The pair, who commentated on City's 2-1 win at Arsenal on BT Sport, seemingly did little to hide any disdain they may have for City.
"Everyone will want Arsenal to win this, other than the City fans," Keown said without even so much as a hint of irony. Right, try asking Tottenham, West Ham, Manchester United and other top-four chasing teams that.
Both were guilty of peddling the narrative around the supposed VAR inconsistency, neither able to comprehend why Arsenal were not awarded a first-half penalty but City were after half-time.
Ederson's challenge on Martin Odegaard wasn't reviewed by the VAR as there was no evidence to suggest that referee Stuart Attwell's on-field decision of no penalty constituted a clear and obvious error.
The VAR decided that Attwell had made a mistake in not awarding City a penalty for Granit Xhaka's foul on Bernardo Silva, so the on-field ruling was rectified. Simple enough, right?
Such maddening television coverage was just one example of how it increasingly feels as if City can do no right. They lose and it's proof that money doesn't buy success. They win and they are accused of apparently ruining football.
City fans are used to such treatment of their club but events in recent weeks have felt particularly peculiar as City continue their march clear at the top of the table. Oh well - maybe it's just part and parcel of being a Blue.
Do you think that City are receiving unfair criticism? Follow our City Is Ours writer Alex Brotherton on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
