(Courtesy of MCFC Official Facebook)
Free coaches to Selhurst Park were laid on by the club in a commendable attempt to apologise for Sky's inconsiderate TV scheduling, but they, like Manuel Pellegrini's decaying squad, could not turn up in time for kick off. After the final whistle had sounded, the sky blue faithful may have been thanking their drivers for sparing them an extra ten minutes of torture.
Within just 90 seconds, City's aching limbs began to fold. Martin Kelly broke down the left hand side an angled a sweet ball into the path of former Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha, but the 22-year-old could only fire into row Z. Pardew had his men fired up. They were enthusiastic, they were hungry and their early play responded to the booming rhythm in the chorus of their supporters. It was intrepid, uninhibited football from a side who, thanks to Pardew, have very little to play for, but sadly, City are no longer a team to be feared.
The Blues nauseated their hosts with their trademark lateral possession. Like a pendulum the ball wavered from Navas, to Touré, to Silva and back again without ever really puncturing Palace's resilient back line until Sergio Agüero struck the post with an opportunistic strike 30 minutes into the first half. If possession won games, City would already be champions. Seventy-four percent of the ball was enjoyed, yet wasted, by the Blues, but the current title holders have an even bigger problem converting their chances. David Silva (44) has created more chances than any other player in the division this term, yet only has three assists to his name. When one considers the fact that Agüero has now gone 511 minutes without a goal in all competitions for his side and that Edin Džeko failed to register a single shot on goal last night, it's clear that scoring goals has become a pressing issue for City.
(David Silva has created more chances than any other player in the league this term, but only has three assists to his name - courtesy of MCFC Official Facebook)
It was just four minutes after Agüero's miss that Palace took the lead through a goal that was glaringly offside. The inevitability of it was almost humorous. City haven't won an away fixture in the Premier League after being behind at half time for 20 years, and they weren't about to.
Jason Puncheon's fine curling free kick just minutes into the second half settled the fixture, but City's possessional dominance continued. The intensity of the play notably improved once Pellegrini hooked the abject Džeko and replaced him with Frank Lampard. The Bosnian has served his club well with a number of important goals in his four years at the Etihad Stadium, but he offered a performance that had the words 'please sell me' written all over it. His scandalous lack of effort was enough to leave some fans offering to pay for his ticket out of the country.
But are performances like this what we should expect from a group of players who have done all they can for the club? The likes of Džeko, Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Touré and Samir Nasri may feel they have offered all they can to City's pursuit of global dominance. Touré played the best football of his career at this club, his languid style often masks the amount of effort he puts in and his scorching pile-driver 12 minutes before time at least gave his side a chance of redemption, but the other three players listed appear to be disinterested. Their poor attitudes could be replaced by the respective enthusiasm of Jason Denayer, Karim Rekik and Marcos Lopes - young academy graduates who have longed to play in City's senior team throughout their short careers. It would be a sound move by whoever happens to be in charge next term to make use of their talent.
(Jason Denayer has impressed whilst on loan at Celtic - via Marc Runnacles/Getty Images)
As for Vincent Kompany, Sergio Agüero and David Silva, plenty is yet to be offered. They are the stand out characters of City's Golden Era and have emerged as key players on the world stage as well as the Premier League one, but the club will have to convince the latter two that regression is not in their long-term plans.
The end of an era has come, it seems. A cycle of the club's best ever players have reached their prime and will be waved off with heartache this summer, but this mess we've got ourselves into will surely encourage an influx of exciting, young talent ready to propel the next Manchester City spell of domination. This turmoil could be a blessing in disguise.
