So, which is it? Healthy, competitive spirit or corrosive petulance? Probably a bit of both.
But, this being football in 2011, we must have a definitive answer, and that will be determined solely by whether City win anything this season.
We like to think that things happen for a reason.
If a team wins, we assume they got everything right, that all aspects of the club were perfectly run, and that the manager had a masterplan to lose five times before November before slowly clawing back the points.
If they lose, they were destined to lose. They had a fatal flaw that meant they would never clear that final hurdle.
If City win the title, they MUST be united.
If they lose it, they MUST be divided.
Except that obviously isn't true.
These issues only tend to rear their ugly heads only when things are going wrong on the pitch.
For example, Arsenal's squad in the mid-2000s was apparently riven by factions.
People more in the know than me claim the squad was split along rough cultural lines into 'French', 'Latin' and 'Germanic' groups.
Where this left Ray Parlour I have no idea.
Did everyone in the squad get on? Probably not.
Did it matter? Obviously not. This was the squad that went unbeaten in 2003/04.
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http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/arm.../article/10504/ 
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Manchester City FC, Feel The Power Of The Dollar [vol.8]
