I have always believed in the theory of co-relation is not causation but I have to ask - is it the 115 charges?
There is a mental block in the team not witnessed before - have they heard something and the hard working lot who built 4 title winning seasons with their blood and sweat suddenly feel disillusioned.
The 115 charges issue raises its head on a regular basis, but it has been part of City life for around 18-20 months IIRC, and we've won two titles, the FA Cup and the Champions League since then.
The only way it could impact on performances is if people at the club know the likely result and the likely punishment, and while the result could be guessed by a pessimist, the punishment will be totally arbitrary and can't be guessed as there are no precedents.
Our current position suggests a ten point deduction would leave us out of Europe for next season, but we'd have still finished top had we received that punishment in at least two of our title-winning seasons. - Our current form implies a ten point deduction would leave us close to relegation but that's another matter.
At the game two people mentioned rumours of a forty point deduction. They claim this came from "someone high up at the club" but I took it with a pinch of salt as I simply can't believe the information could be kept from the scavenging hyena's of the media freak show. However if it's true we could be in real shit as losing forty points could leave us below the dotted line without a huge upturn in form in the new year.
The bottom line is we just don't know, but it's worth reminding people that the Premier League and their red-shirted bosses will want what they see as a quick fix. It opens a can of worms if they expel us as the EFL don't have to accept us, hence silly comments about the North West Counties League etc. But a heavy points deduction leading to relegation automatically puts us in the Championship, and it's job done.
Finally back t0 the game - It's Monday morning and I'm still fuming. That performance was horrible and a proper team would have been level and then ahead much earlier than the rags were. I doubt we'll go down without a heavy points deduction but we sleep-walked into the second division in 1983, second in November and as high as 9th in January. A draw at Villa Park and wins against Everton and West Ham shouldn't be beyond us, but none of those teams are as shit as the rags.