At half-time, when City were trailing 2-0 to Lincoln following that dismal first 45 minutes, thoughts were cast back to before the international break.
City were genuinely one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league. Scoring goals for fun and leaking them too (some things never change) but they had a swagger and confidence about them that suggested they had an outside chance of being in and around the top six.
Heck, they even went into third after beating Blackburn away from home who now sit second in the Championship. Those performances feel like a lifetime ago as a defeat to their League One opponents cranked up the pressure on Nigel Pearson.
