Birmingham 0 - 0 City

• In isolation a draw at Birmingham City isn't terrible. But it is avoidable. And this is our third avoidable draw in succession. Yes, 19 points from 10 games is excellent, and fourth place really keeps us in contention. We are the only team in the league to have lost only once this season. But if we had won the last three games (I'm not counting Villa Park here, that was a good point), we would now be on 25 points, separated from United only on goal difference. And a won game in hand away from top spot. These are the margins at this end of the table; we are on the wrong side of success.

• So that's all pretty annoying. But what's really getting me down this evening is the performance. We were very bad today. Hughes said it was the 'the poorest we have played in sometime' and he's right. We did not create a single good chance on goal, despite a front four of Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tévez, Roque Santa Cruz and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Even when Stephen Ireland and Martin Petrov were introduced we looked like we could have played on until 2010 and not created anything. Which is worrying, to say the least.

• Just as worrying, and not unconnected from the lack of chances created, was the lack of control in midfield. It was one of Gareth Barry's least effective games at City, and without his imposing himself in the middle we are not the same side. De Jong is a master of the destructive arts but creates a vacuum in which others can flourish. When Barry isn't taking advantage of this protection we suffer. It is certainly true that we are more creative with Stephen Ireland in the side. Whether or not recent performances justify his starting, I'm not sure. And where, too? Instead of de Jong? Instead of Barry? Out wide? Answers in the comments.

• How about a positive then: a clean sheet! The first since Fratton Park in August. Of course, James McFadden missed a penalty and so we were lucky to get away with one. But even with that it was our best defensive performance for a while. There were no horror shows of marking at corners or free-kicks, which made a nice change, as did the fact that both centre backs seemed to be playing with their eyes on the game. When Kolo Touré gets fit he will play, presumably re-creating his surprisingly dysfunctional partnership with the £24m man Joleon Lescott.

• So it feels overall like a step backward. But it is another point on the road, taking us to eight points from four trips to the bottom half clubs. Which, at two points per game, is a decent improvement on last season's six from a possible thirty. We must thump Burnley on Saturday, though, to get back on track.