In the late '80s and early '90s, it seemed that Manchester City and Everton were intent on trying out each other's entire squads. They shared two managers (Joe Royle, Howard Kendall) and more players than seemed polite. At one point. there was almost certainly some kind of left back bet on between the respective boards, as Terry Phelan, Neil Pointon, Paul Power, Andy Hinchcliffe and Earl Barrett all swapped sides. Leighton Baines, the current incumbent, might one day continue the trend, but today, replete in his Frodo Baggins wig and face fuzz, he played a significant part in stopping City's home juggernaut from continuing along its merry way.

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And so, Everton's hypnotic hold over City maintains its icy grip. A point here was the least they deserved for a clinging, athletic, clever performance against a City side that was never able to find second gear for spells longer than five minutes or so at a time. This has been a curious season so far. Way off the form and vitality of last year, City are still unbeaten, and sat top of the league at the end of the 3 o'clock kick-offs. This is a team that has been changed, some say unnecessarily, had reinforcements introduced that have not strengthened the unit, been tinkered with at many a junction and yet still sits seven points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the pile.

Are we to believe that the best is still to come? That these pedestrian strolls are just a limbering up to some scintillating form over Christmas and into the meaty part of the season? Is somebody going to get blown away one of these weeks by a blizzard of cutting passes and rocket shots? Or is this it for 2012-13? A slow-paced, ambling, capable but not overstretched set of interchangeable top-quality players, who don't seem able to grab hold of a game and throttle it as in days of yore? They chug from side to side, hold off the opposition with relative ease, never panic when they go a goal down, gently force their way back into a game, plug away at the gaps but stop short of complete annihilation, death by a thousand passes and the ritual humiliation of a beaten foe. It's just no fun anymore.

Against teams that stick at it, show discipline, fight and tactical rigidity, there seems little chance of making serious headway. Everton turn up in Manchester season after season and force the Blues into a makeshift straitjacket, from which they struggle to escape.

Much has been made of Everton and City's shared football heritage. The alleyways around Maine Road, the Scottie Road, the Kippax, the Gladwys Street. Old football images of a time gone by. Although Everton have no current choice but to cling to this club image, City have been rebooted, re-suited and re-launched as a totally different entity. Image, product, consumers and customer experience are all common words and phrases around the officially sponsored Etihad Stadium these days. There are lackeys in suits, young lads with ear pieces and microphones on sticks, burly fellows pointing grandly, opening and closing doors with belles gestes and talking suspiciously into turned-up collars like Columbo calling for reinforcements. It all seems very plush after the peeling boardroom at Maine Road and the Social Club covered in rolls of razor wire, selling inflatable bananas and shirts marked "Saab" and "Philips". The Blue Moon chippy covered in grey smoke and the Parkside with its mouth-breathing bouncers and dirty glasses are all but dusty memories.

The football, however, has been less plush so far this season. Slow, meandering build-up, six passes too many to get over the half-way line and a distinct fear of the opposing nets have been features of the first three months of action. Today's fare was typical of the type: The stand-out performers, Gareth Barry, Vincent Kompany and Maicon were not the ones City need to do serious damage. One blocks, the other clears up, while the third tears up and down the flank like a turbo-tractor. Meantime, lethal midfielders pondered the meaning of life, razor-sharp strikers inspected Sylvain Distin's posture and Phil Jagielka's hair gel and box-to-box giants were downsized to mere strolling centre circle mortals.

While Mancini seems either unaware of what his best side is or unwilling to play it, these sorts of games will present themselves for our delectation. Consternation at Carlos Tevez's removal met concern at the lack of urgency and drive. Frustration at the lack of progress out of a midfield morass of Everton's making met disappointment at precious home points dropped. The outcome? City's unbeaten home run is now the second longest in Premier League history. At least statistics offer us comfort of a kind.

Mancini's men now face two games in the next week where any lack of drive or incisiveness could be critical. There is no room for error, no place for lethargy. The pressure is on. The eyes of the football world are watching to see if this 2012-13 Manchester City vintage can step up and produce two performances of control and thrust that will put down a marker for the rest of the season. Now is the time.

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