Storm clouds gather over City

St Jude The Apostle is about to trend on Twitter as a 145km storm arrives on his feast day to threaten the south coast of England today ; and as the patron saint of lost causes it may be wise for Joe Hart — and Manchester City fans — to offer him up a couple of prayers.

Their team’s defeat at Stamford Bridge — inflicted by a man who many people believed was the most hopeless case of all — is a serious blow to their title challenge and revealed endemic problems in defence that cast real doubts over City’s ability to last the distance this season.

The arrival of new manager Manuel Pellegrini in the summer and the opening of Sheikh Mansour’s chequebook to the tune of almost €200 million was meant to put right all the problems endured last season as they failed to defend their title.