The inquest was inevitable after City's fifth Premier League draw in a row to take the edge off that great start to the season, and everybody is weighing in with their two-penn'orth.

Stan Collymore, who played for Liverpool, Forest and Bradford City amongst others and watched the Burnley game, points the finger at the back four - and to be fair, Kolo Toure & Co are pointing fingers at themselves, so no great insight there.

Stan, who has become something of a pundit in his latest re-invention, reckons: "It was blatantly obvious what their problems are - and that is at the heart of their defence." Well, yes, it was a 3-3 draw - scoring goals ... check ... not conceding goals ... uh-oh, three of them went in.

Tony Cascarino, the former Republic of Ireland and Millwall striker who writes for the Times, has also spotted the problem: "Against Burnley, it was impossible to tell which side's defence cost tens of millions and whose was put together cheaply."

He forecasts: "Get ready for Manchester City to buy big in January." Sticking your neck out there, Tone.

Jamie Redknapp in the Mail is more inclined to credit Burnley's performance - "they have brought something to the Premier League" - but adds: "Mark Hughes might be busy in January."

The boss isn't exactly putting his feet up at the moment, Jamie, but we know what you mean.