Indeed, in more trigger-happy years gone by, Mancini might already have been shown the exit door: Peter Reid was, famously, sacked as City's manager before the end of August, after a poor start to the 1993-94 season - and in those days City expectations were simply to avoid relegation first and then to crack on to a mid-table finish later.
Last night, the fantastically named blogger called Barclays Investment Banker-Gucci Versace Givenchy - top marks for some kind of crazy search engine optimising for fashionistas going on in that extraordinary name, but let's shorthand this to BIBGVG for now - posted a one-line statement on the BBC's 606 football forum saying simply: "He couldn't beat mediocre teams so far, get over him" in a thread simply entitled "Fire Mancini!!"
As opening salvos go though, this one surely registers as little more than a whimper - indeed, there was plenty of trash talk posted in response to BIBGVG's frankly ridiculous comment - although it does illustrate quite how far expectations have been raised at Eastlands by both Mancini's summer spending spree and that spectacular recent win over Liverpool.
That the side has landed just one point in two games since then - when wearers of blue-tinted spectacles might have predicted a haul of six points from a seemingly benign away game against Sunderland and an eminently winnable home match with Blackburn - has only stoked the fires of discontent.
Mancini must work hard to ensure City's sticky patch of form does not develop into something far more serious, although he could rightly point to poor finishing and defensive errors undoing his side in both the aforementioned league matches. Less a crisis of confidence he might say, more a calamity of errors - and he would be right.
City's next game, an away fixture in Austria in the Europa League, would seem the perfect midweek distraction from the side's weekend woes, before an away game at Wigan on Sunday brings the chance to get their league campaign back on track. Neither fixture can come too soon for the Italian charged with leading the side to their first trophy in 35 years and answering the premature catcalls of BIBGVG, to ensure a lone voice doesn't become a chorus of catcalls.
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