The roadshow of condemned men is demanding more creativity from those who feel wronged by Manchester City than just chucking verbal tomatoes at players who have nothing to do with any guilty verdicts. For a couple of locals around Aston Villa, that meant an afternoon at Hobbycraft.

Armed with a pack of multi-coloured chalk down Trinity Road, they set about scrawling inventive messages for their visitors. Among the top hits were ‘UAE = Fake Sheikhs’ and ‘Boycott Dubai’. Given the sentiments, they might not have been Villa supporters. Or geography fans, either.

The bleak barrage of weather washed the chalk away by the time City’s bus rolled into town, a route it would ordinarily have taken were it not for significant redevelopment going on at Villa Park.

And it is that building work, eventually raising capacity to over 50,000, that will serve as a driver towards swelling Villa’s matchday revenue, pushing up their financial ceiling in a way that could help Unai Emery build a squad that can consistently qualify for the Champions League and bridge the gap between themselves and those who want them kept out of the elite.

For that reason, the reaction to City arriving in the Midlands - at a stadium they almost always struggle and where they have now lost four consecutive matches - provided real intrigue. Those up in the boardroom, who want to progress Villa further than PSR rules allow and build them back into the powerhouse of yore, are likely observing City’s appeal with hope of a favourable result for the defendants. If not exoneration, then certainly a bloody nose to the Premier League and general chaos in creating a scenario that would nudge conversation among those in positions of power to talking about how the current set of rules serve to constrain.

Because it cannot be right that Villa have had to sell so many of their top talent despite bobbing in and out of the Champions League and winning the Europa League. Unai Emery’s relative silence on City’s guilty verdicts, a refusal to add to widespread censure, speaks volumes and he has instead focused on shining a light on how his club are relying on selling high and buying potential to balance the books.

So the matchday discussions over an early lunch between executives will have been cordial and friendly on Saturday morning, before Emery’s glorious counter-attacking undid the Premier League leaders. Like a few other clubs, Villa might well sound more sympathetic to City’s legal scrapes behind the scenes and are watching the next few months with interest.

There is some supporter sentiment in that direction as well, believing they are being hamstrung – with the consequences of missing out on Champions League football in 2025 on goal difference, thus unable to keep hold of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, an easily identifiable case of injustice.

But then there are the sporting moments in time that fans remember, which can make them diametrically opposed to what City are and what they represent. It’s always boisterous at Villa for City, always hostile, and they do not forget Fabian Delph, Gareth Barry and Jack Grealish being taken from them. Callously, in their view.

There was no world in which City’s latest trip to this part of Birmingham, the first of Enzo Maresca’s reign, would be any different. Yet City teams have, in the past, suffered worse – notably when Delph returned to the sight of the toy snakes in the stands. The building site behind one goal will have contributed to a degree.

They were called ‘cheating b*******’ and relentlessly jeered when attempting to build from the back via a nervy Gianluigi Donnarumma. Howled at during the pre-match huddle. But some of that felt like pantomime, as it did at Anfield a fortnight ago, and there felt like more humour to their indignation – suggesting in unison that an errant pass for Jeremy Doku flying straight out for a throw was evidence of why City are going down.

‘Premier League, corrupt as f***’ rang out when Johan Manzambi’s appeals for a penalty were waved away by Peter Bankes. Obviously those wielding inflatable bananas joined in and there was some laughter at that response in the home ends before City’s contingent started singing about Khaldoon Al Mubarak and going down to League Two. Villa were actually louder as a collective when Bankes became more involved and once Nicolas Jackson netted his second, responding to footballing factors than any deep-seated hate for those who stood opposite their side.

City’s travelling party next heads to Nottingham Forest in a fortnight. A club with similarly ambitious owners, with aspirations of far more than their current lot. While the instinctive response will be to aggressively pour scorn, Maresca may not always be leading his team into the raging bear pits predicted. There has to be some conflicting views among those they are playing against.