To be honest it is a bit of both.
If you look at the current clubs in the top 6 then you would be hard pressed to see more than a couple of City players who would push for a place. One of them might be Wilson, who is a loanee.
Our recruitment in the last 2-3 seasons has been poor with extremely average signings to fit into an average style of play.
The top 6 teams make us look like there is a gap of a division in the way we play. That has got to be the fault of the coach.
I did state when Warnock was dismissed, that we needed a manager with new ideas and a 2-3 year period for implementation. Mid table mediocrity while building in the correct way would have been far more acceptable than what we are doing today.
Posters who keep talking about a top 6 finish are completely deluded.