Timing to perfection: Gareth Barry celebrates his late equaliser for Manchester City Photo: AP

Robinho might be gone, safely back in Santos, but his apathetic approach to away fixtures has pervaded the men he left behind. After drawing with Stoke City it hangs over this Manchester City side in a sepulchral gloom.

Aggression, intensity, authority — call it what you want — City lack it. After losing to Everton, Hull, and now drawing at the Britannia, we are left with one immutable fact, one which brings to mind Lance-Corporal Jones of Dad’s Army: Manchester City don’t like it up 'em.

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True, Roberto Mancini’s side have moved into fourth place, ahead of Liverpool, but this was not a performance that suggested they will stay there long. Mancini had ordered full attack mode, but he was rewarded with a sluggish start and a lapse in concentration just when things finally started going their way, Glenn Whelan’s shot from outside the area burying itself in the bottom corner after 71 minutes.

Gareth Barry’s equaliser was as opportunistic as they come, Thomas Sorensen fumbling a shot against the post, the midfielder sliding in at the last.

On the basis of the evidence so far, Mancini wouldn’t have been much good in the Middle Ages. He makes storming the fortress look like a forlorn hope. After abysmal away performances against Everton and Hull, what hope had they against Stoke, experts in making it uncomfortable for their guests?

Much negativity has been levelled at Stoke and their uncompromising approach, but what they do, they do well — if only Man City had just a bit of their elbow grease and can-do attitude. Relying on their trademark aerial offensive, they pinned the visiting side down in their own half, the ball finding its way back to Shay Given far too often for the liking of City supporters.

Mancini had said his side would be ready for a fight, and he led by example, viciously stabbing the air with his finger at the slightest perceived injustice, Tony Pulis, referee Alan Wiley and the fourth official all on the receiving end of his broken English at various occasions throughout the game.

Patrick Vieira was also in combative mood. The former Arsenal midfielder was booked for a grouchy challenge on Mamady Sidibe, and he can count himself lucky that Wiley — unlike the rest of the stadium — did not see him bury his boot in Whelan’s groin in an early exchange. The denizens of the Britannia are a vociferous bunch and they rewarded the 33 year-old with whistles and jeers for the duration.

Alas, this aggression was funnelled in the wrong causes. Without Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez, the former absent with a knee injury and the latter in Argentina for family reasons, Man City were devoid of energy and invention. Adebayor might cut a dash in his red boots, but he doesn’t do much in the way of carving out chances for himself when the service is slim.

Starved of possession, the result of being rushed into mistakes and poor communication, City stalled on each break, the only real opportunities of the first half falling to Barry, who sliced a volley in the area wide, and Roque Santa Cruz, whose shot was similarly errant.

Stoke, meanwhile, were going about their business with relish. Having held this lot 1-1 in the FA Cup at the weekend through a Ricardo Fuller goal from a Rory Delap throw-in, Stoke knew exactly what was needed, and within minutes were peppering the City area with every variety of aerial delivery they could think of.

Four minutes in, Liam Lawrence found Sidibe unmarked in front of the goal with a swerving free-kick. The striker was as surprised as anybody when the ball appeared at his feet and all he could muster was a tame side-foot straight to Given.

Fifteen minutes in the company of their manager did Man City some good, and for the first time in the match the statistics began to go in their favour.

The balance looked to have been well and truly tipped when Abdoulaye Faye pulled down Adebayor and was dismissed with 30 minutes remaining.

Yet Adam Johnson’s lousy clearance bumbled to the edge of the area and Whelan smashed it low into the corner of the net. Five minutes from time Barry let loose, Sorensen parried, and the midfielder scrambled it in to give Mancini a crumb of comfort.

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? Key Likely to take place In danger Unlikely to take place Barclays Premier League Arsenal v Everton Arsenal are optimistic, but they were the same for the Bolton game until 4pm yesterday. Good chance.

? Birmingham City v Manchester United Saturday, 5.30pm. Pitch clear and access to St Andrew’s good at the moment. Reasonable prospect.

? Burnley v Stoke City No problem with pitch and paths around stadium can be cleared, but peripheral areas definitely a concern.

? Fulham v Portsmouth Game is on, club doing all they can to combat weather.

? Hull City v Chelsea Saturday, 12.45pm. Monitoring. Game will go ahead as long as no significant further snowfall.

? Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur Sunday, 4pm. Pitch will be playable and extra day could be a bonus.

? Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers Pitch has undersoil heating and covers and is playable. Will monitor weather and talk to police about any concerns.

? West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers Sunday, 1.30pm. Club fear supporters’ safety in getting to ground.

? Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa Confident game will not be affected. Pitch in fine condition, areas around the stadium gritted and cleared.

Coca-Cola Championship

? West Bromwich Albion v Nottingham Forest Tomorrow, 7.45pm. Snow ploughs and gritters clearing access routes to stadium; pitch has undersoil heating.

? Crystal Palace v Bristol City Hopeful. Extra covers and heaters used to protect pitch.Cardiff City v Blackpool Pitch clear and arrangements in hand to clear remaining snow and ice from stands and approaches to the stadium.

? Coventry City v Barnsley Ricoh Arena has undersoil heating and Coventry plan to train at ground. Game on, unless dramatic changes.

? Derby County v Scunthorpe United Undersoil heating working, so pitch fine. Stadium and surrounding areas cleared. Only big snowfall will stop game going ahead.

? Middlesbrough v Swansea City Everything fine at moment, pitch playable and undersoil heating is on.

? Preston v Doncaster Rovers Deepdale pitch frozen and sub-zero temperatures forecast over the next few days.

? Queens Park Rangers v Plymouth Argyle Probable. Selling tickets yesterday.

? Reading v Newcastle United Heavy snowfall in the local area has put fixture in doubt.

? Sheffield Wednesday v Peterborough United Doubtful because of state of areas surrounding stadium. A decision will be taken in next 24 hours.

? Watford v Sheffield United Frozen pitch and surrounding areas could mean a postponement.

? Leicester City v Ipswich Town Sunday, 3pm. Pitch and surrounding areas clear. Monitoring long-range weather forecasts.

League One

? Brighton & Hove Albion v Brentford There is snow around ground but is too soon to make a decision.

? Bristol Rovers v Stockport County City have spoken to the Football League about the conditions and will make a decision today.

? Carlisle United v Millwall Pitch inspection at 1pm today. Likely to be called off.

? Charlton Athletic v Hartlepool United Highly unlikely. Despite frost covers being put in place on New Year’s Day, areas of the pitch are already frozen.

? Gillingham v Tranmere Rovers Hopeful. John Plummer, the head groundsman, is appealing for volunteers from 9am today to bring “shovels, brooms and wheelbarrows”.

? Leeds United v Wycombe Wanderers Monitoring the weather forecast and barring any further significant snowfall, the game will go ahead.

? Milton Keynes Dons v Swindon Town A pitch inspection today but it is under a blanket of snow and likely to fail.

? Norwich City v Exeter City Club are very optimistic of the match being played.

? Oldham Athletic v Leyton Orient Boundary Park pitch covered in ten inches of snow.

? Southampton v Huddersfield Town St Mary’s pitch is covered but under a blanket of snow.

? Southend United v Walsall There has not been too much snow in the area so far but more is forecast. The club will make an announcement as soon as possible, possibly tomorrow, to avoid wasted journeys.

? Yeovil Town v Colchester Town Doubtful. Club offices were closed yesterday because of snowfall. Nathan Jones, the fitness-obsessed assistant manager, led a spin class this week with the training ground out of bounds.

League Two

? Aldershot Town v Rochdale Thick layer of snow covering the EBB Stadium’s pitch and forecast of more for later in the week makes this game unlikely to take place.

? Bury v Darlington Almost certain to be called off, with a total of 280 tonnes of snow on the pitch and the surface frozen solid underneath.

? Cheltenham Town v Hereford United May be called off today with five inches of snow covering the pitch.

? Crewe Alexandra v Grimsby Town Chances slim, with the pitch frozen.

? Lincoln City v Accrington Stanley Sincil Bank pitch will be assessed this morning. Three to four inches of snow fell on Tuesday night.

? Morecambe v Burton Albion Christie Park has about two inches of snow on the pitch, but it is frozen solid and there is little chance of the game going ahead.

? Northampton Town v Chesterfield Club hope that the layer of snow will help to keep the pitch warm and the game will be on.

? Notts County v Macclesfield Town County are using heaters in an attempt to thaw out the Meadow Lane pitch but it is still unlikely the game will be on.

? Port Vale v Bradford City The Staffordshire club are resigned to losing their fight to beat the weather with the pitch frozen and sub-zero temperatures forecast for the next few days.

? Rotherham United v Bournemouth Rotherham have not played since December 12 and it is highly unlikely this match will beat the cold snap.

? Shrewsbury Town v Barnet Shrewsbury officials hope the game will be given the go-ahead when the match referee makes his decision tomorrow night.

? Torquay United v Dagenham & Redbridge Heavy snow forecast tomorrow.

He is the manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers and his neck is on the block if it all goes pear-shaped.  

But the thought that the Premier League is calling him to book is, quite frankly, laughable.