Manchester United legends Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand have offered less than complimentary views on Manchester City supporters, after another disappointing night for Manuel Pellegrini's side in the Champions League.
City are now in a perilous position in Group E after a 1-1 draw with Roma on Tuesday followed their defeat against Bayern Munich on matchday 1 of the Champions League, with Scholes and Ferdinand suggesting Pellegrini and his players are not getting suitable backing from their own supporters.
"When you come here it just doesn't have a European night feel to it," said Scholes, who was working as an ITV pundit on City's game against Roma at the Etihad Stadium.
"You go to Liverpool, you go to Old Trafford, you go to Chelsea, they have a special feeling for it. I don't think there is here [a special atmosphere]. I don't think they realise what a big game this is.
"They've got the team, they've definitely got the players, the quality is definitely there, but do the crowd realise how lucky they are to be in this competition? I don't think they do. The crowd needs to get behind this team they need to create a special European atmosphere.
"I was lucky enough to play at Old Trafford and we always talked about the atmosphere on a Tuesday night, the special atmosphere you create, and the crowd is rocking when you go out for a warm up. At quarter-past seven and there's empty seats everywhere.
Ferdinand took to Twitter to question why City are expanding their Etihad Stadium on a night when they failed to sell all the tickets available for the Champions League clash against Roma.
How many empty seats are there at the city vs Roma game by the way....big CL game & fans would rather Ramsays Kitchen or something at home��
- Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 30, 2014
Expanding the stadium for what though?? For who though???
- Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 30, 2014
The official attendance for the Group E encounter was 37,509, around 8,000 down on the current capacity.