Man City atmosphere jibes are unfair, but the Etihad Stadium can get even better

Football fans who dislike Manchester City really do need to find a new stick to beat them with because, frankly, it's all getting a bit tedious.

Of all the certainties in life, rival supporters taking the mickey out of the supposedly poor atmosphere and attendances at the Etihad Stadium should be added to the list alongside death and taxes. Unfortunately, despite the contradicting evidence, it is always going to happen.

That isn't to say that the Etihad is always rocking, or that 55,000 people are crammed in every single week, but the criticisms of the Blues are well out of line.

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Generally speaking, attendances at City games are very good and the atmosphere generated by supporters is improving every year.

City averaged a gate of 52,700 last season, the sixth best in the Premier League, while on average the Etihad was 95.9% full. That firmly puts to bed any notion that there are always thousands of empty seats at games, and the moronic claim that City 'have no fans'.

Of course, there are games - usually midweek fixtures, cup games or unglamorous fixtures against lower-table sides - where the Etihad is not sold out, and there are pockets of empty seats visible. That's when the empty seat watchers pounce, taking to Twitter with fresh 'evidence' that City don't have a loyal support.

It shouldn't really need explaining, but when your team goes deep into four competitions during a cost of living crisis, and when match tickets are far more expensive than they should be, then the average City fan just cannot afford to go to every game.

The criticism of atmosphere is fairer, but even that is largely overblown. The noise generated