Excellent OP and discussion this. I think that most of us City fans are concerned about the present position with three difficult games coming up. Had City won against QPR or West Ham (which they easily could have done, IMO) none of this soul searching would be going on now. I agree with those who say that CH is building a much more solid team that will perform week in, week out. Certainly this is the strongest squad City have had in the 40+ years I have been watching them. CH will again turn out an almost totally different starting line-up on Wednesday and still have solid quality throughout.
Fox, Tettey, Butterfield, Whittaker, and Kane have yet to show what they can add to the mix when their turn comes, as it will, and the return of Elliot Bennett and Pilkington will also offer new options as the return of Hoolahan did so strongly on Saturday. PL was fortunate to get a win against a less than daunting Bolton side (even before they had a player sent off) in the fifth game last year which finally got the ball rolling after 2 draws and 2 losses, but IMO, he never achieved the solidity and depth that CH is building in the team. There was a nervousness about the 5 penalties conceded in the first 5 games that I don't see now.
There are still at least 6 teams at the bottom fighting for survival and others like Stoke, West Ham and Swansea could well be dragged back into the bottom 3 over the season as a whole. Far too soon to be pessimistic, IMO. If City are in the bottom 3 at Christmas after playing all the other 19 teams, then we should worry. I don't think they will be, but it will be a battle through and through. There are still 33 games to play and 99 points to play for to reach the 36-38 points required (given the 3 points already acquired). I think they can do that.