A cynic might look at the facts - Mendes scores two crackers (including a last-second winner) that keeps Pompey in the Premiership; then he is assaulted by Ben Thatcher, attracting unwanted publicity and opprobrium for the club… and then the next time the teams meet, he scores another cracker and controls the midfield, frustrating new international Joey Barton, and prompting a nasty challenge by said England player that sends Pedro off on a stretcher for a second time - and think City have got it in for him.
In fact, would you need to be a cynic to reach that conclusion?
Stuart Pearce has attracted praise for his refreshing approach since taking over at Eastlands, and certainly I've been impressed by some of his honest observations about the way his team has played or about individuals' actions.
But I've also criticised his failure to review and condemn the Thatcher challenge immediately after the event instead of procrastinating until he could see which way the land lay.
And I do wonder how refreshing his attitude really is after reading his observations that people have it in for poor Joey - that he is the victim of a witch hunt.
The man who assaulted one of his own colleagues at a function; bore his backside at Everton fans and threw the offer of a new contract back in the face of the club and supporters who had stuck by him through some trying disciplinary times.
Positive
Instead of spending so much time bemoaning the treatment of one of his team's many hard men, maybe Pearce should spend longer worrying about the way his charges treat other players - and in particular Pedro Mendes, who can look after himself but rarely resorts to any sort of strong-arm tactics when his talented feet and sharp football brain have a more devastating effect.
The
Manchester City 2007 is a team in Pearce's own image - hard, well organised and not averse to overstepping the mark (and those who remember his playing days with a more rose-coloured view are guilty of selective amnesia).
Sure, it still has plenty of talent (Stephen Ireland, Micah Richards and Ishmael Miller are as good a bunch of youngsters as I've seen around, and Richard Dunne and Andreas Isaakson were excellent against Pompey).
But the aggressive, antagonistic approach personified by Barton and Bernardo Corradi (how many times was he booked - or should have been - on Saturday?) betray another dimension that would be more understandable were it not accompanied this season by two of the most cynical challenges you could imagine on the same talented player, who certainly on the second occasion was controlling the game and threatening to take it away from City's grasp.
Poetic justice
Only Barton truly knows whether his studs-up lunge on Mendes' heel was a genuine attempt to play the ball, but anyone who witnessed the "challenge" or saw replays (though not from Match of the Day's underplayed version) will have a good idea.
And anyone who saw Barton's frustrated reaction when Mendes swept the ball away from him just a few minutes earlier (he launched a torrent of criticism at a colleague on that occasion) will know how frustrated he had become by the time he took out Mendes.
I feared it would change the shape of the game - which in fact it did. And on balance, I felt City deserved the draw they looked like getting, so Kanu's late winner felt like poetic justice.
I gather Poor Joey was reported for apparent gestures to Pompey fans after the match.
Sorry if you were one of the recipients, but to be honest, I don't think anyone should be worrying too much about that (apart from the fact it would appear to suggest he hasn't learned his lesson from the Everton incident).
He was subject to sustained abuse from the moment he sent Mendes to the stretcher, and while I have no sympathy with him for that, fans who dish that out should be capable of taking it, too.
It's violence we should be concerned about.
Reckless challenges that injure are bad enough.
But premeditated violence on the football pitch is a very worrying development indeed.
And managers who fail to condone it deserve to be judged by the same criteria.
Speaking of managers, it's ironic that the only participant on Saturday who should be sent off was Harry Redknapp.
Harry has many faults - and I suspect his language is one of them. But he is one of the biggest respecters of referees in the Premiership.
He rarely criticises them publicly, generally accepting the good and the bad with equanimity.
And if he does criticise, it tends not to be personal or sustained.
Barton's challenge clearly drove Harry over the edge, and to be honest, abuse of officials deserves some sort of punishment.
But Mike Dean's poor performance on Saturday perfectly illustrated how a lack of consistency is one of the biggest reasons that a chasm remains between those who play the game at the highest level and those who officiate.
Disrespect for the rules and those who enforce them deserves censure.
But physical aggression, actual and intended violence merit harsher treatment.
They have to be cut out of the game before someone not only gets hurt but maybe next time doesn't get the chance to use his skills to take them apart again.