Not wishing to use the word...but I will...City have a massive fan base, there are loads of people who "support" City and don't go that often due to a number of reasons.
There are also those who over the years have been put off coming to watch City live due to the shite that was lobbed up as football....and once you get out of the habit of going it's difficult to get back into it.
(There was something mentioned on the OS earlier, 91 thousand unique visitors tuned in to the Barca City game last night...anyone explain what "unique" means in Tinternet terms???....)
I attended the Hacienda from the first week it opened, it was dead for a few years, never even had to queue to get in most weeks, then...It became popular, in fact massively popular, the music being played changed and moved with the times, people didn't call the newcomers band wagon jumpers, they just accepted that it evolved (OK, the e's helped!)
My point is there's this attitude that unless you've watched City week in week out and got piss wet through at a second division ground on a january tueday night, you're not worthy to be called a true City fan and anyone who wasn't there and who hasn't attended for ages on a regular basis are bandwagon jumpers, which is bollocks.