Murphy accuses City of arrogance at the City Ground
City travelled to Nottingham on Saturday hoping to stop the rot, but slumped to a 3-1 defeat against a Forest side who started the day in the relegation zone. Liam Delap scored twice against his former club, and the manner of the loss left Murphy questioning the mentality of Maresca's players.
"I thought City's performance was poor in terms of mentality," Murphy told BBC Sport. "To make so many mistakes when you go anywhere in the Premier League, but especially to a team who are fighting for their lives, and you know they're going to come after you. They were sloppy with the ball, not winning duels. I would even probably go as far as saying there was probably a bit of arrogance at the start of the game from them."
Stone says City's defensive line was disjointed
Stone, who played for Forest, felt City's problems ran deeper than the individual errors that have cost them in recent weeks. Josko Gvardiol gave the ball away for Jair Cunha's sixth-minute opener, but the former winger insisted the shape of Maresca's defence was the bigger concern.
"Before the game all the talk was about individual errors," Stone told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Apart from the first goal, this hasn't been about that - the line is disjointed. The full-backs were very wide. If the ball turns over quickly and you pass it with your first pass you can be right through them. They have been exposed today. Oliver Glasner's team have played through them every time."
Stone stunned by City's sloppiness in midfield
Stone admitted he had arrived at the City Ground expecting Maresca's side to win, and was shocked by how often they surrendered possession. City have now become only the second team in English top-flight history, after Sheffield Wednesday in 1904-05, to win their first seven games of a season and then lose the next three.
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"I came here tonight thinking City would win, I thought they had chances," Stone said. "This is a real hammer blow to them, there is something not right about the back four at the minute. I have never seen a City team give the ball away so much in the middle of the park."
Murphy urges Maresca to stick with one back line
City head into the international break six points behind Arsenal, with Gvardiol and Marc Guehi both forced off injured at half-time.
"I think that there are now some big questions to ask the manager about how he gets them back on track," Murphy said. "I think with the talent they have got, it is not going to be a big problem. But I think defensively, maybe sticking to the same backline for a little while is the way forward."