After such a disappointing result at Villa, it was inevitable that we would turn up to the Etihad on Saturday, play them off the park and find some form again, but this season is so weirdly unpredictable that we can’t even do the predictably unpredictable things properly.

We played better than the 4-0 score-line suggests but heads were always going to drop after two fortunate first half goals.

We played some nice stuff - even dominating possession at times - and it could have been a lot worse.

It’s a bit like being unprepared for an exam, going in expecting the worst and ending up with 50%.

It’s nothing to write home about but at least you didn’t get 10%, right? Happy days, on to the next one.

MORE: Palace locked in talks over striker swap deal - report

In terms of performance, it was certainly an improvement on the Villa game, which was more like being unprepared for an exam, going in expecting the worst and then setting the school on fire.

There were certainly positives to take from the City defeat and with a couple of decent signings there’s no reason why we can’t get back to our pre-Christmas form.

Last week I tried to give the club the benefit of the doubt and suggested that we’re putting genuine careful thought into our transfer targets, avoiding over the hill journeymen with no sell on value or potential to improve.

This week we’re heavily linked with Emmanuel Adebayor and Robert Green.

Hennessey has messed up recently, but replacing him with another mistake-prone keeper would be a backwards step.

News Shopper:

MORE: Eagles transfer news - Liverpool join race, QPR willing to sell

If a girl was going out with Stan Collymore and wanted to be with somebody that treats her a bit better, I wouldn’t recommend that she started dating Marlon King.

Adebayor from three years ago would be the perfect striker for our system – big and strong, pacey and intelligent, with an eye for goal.

Whether he can be motivated to return to that level is the question, but right now Adebayor up front sounds like a much better option than having absolutely nobody.

At least we haven’t just paid £8million for Lewis Grabban.

Newcastle fans have been piping up recently about how they warned us it would all go wrong under Pardew. It’s almost February and we’re closer to the Champions League places than the relegation zone, so I’m pretty happy. Yohan says hi, by the way.

MORE: Charlton star ready to snub interest from Chelsea and Spurs

Hopefully we can end our goal drought this weekend against Spurs, who despite their good form have only kept four clean sheets since they beat us in September.

News Shopper:

There’s not much to say about Tottenham to be honest, they’re just a bit pointless.

They’ve been wasting money on overrated players for years in an effort to escape Arsenal’s shadow, and this year they finally have a chance to cement themselves in the top four - led by a guy that came through their academy and a kid they picked up from MK Dons.

It’s nice to know the Gareth Bale money didn’t go to waste.

This is normally the time of year that Jason Puncheon sorts himself out and decides to have an amazing second half of the season, plus he’s making a habit of hitting the headlines in games against Spurs.

We’ll certainly be considered the underdogs for this and we’ve got nothing to lose by going for it, so while I’m not expecting us to turn them over, we’ll certainly make it difficult for them.

I wonder if anywhere is offering odds on Adebayor to come on and score the winner, Gary Lineker to cry and little John Bostock to still be irrelevant?

Follow us on Twitter @NewsShopperSprt