Out of the Forest and up to Le Moors.. Notts Forest Home, Wed, 24th Oct 8-0 .

[Prufrock]

Also, I'm never having that there was any attempt to get it down and play, or the reason we looked shite was because that was what we were trying to do. Every opportunity was taken to nice person it into the gods. One first half moment where he built a bit of pressure and won a few second and third phase balls on the edge of the box. Then, good knows why, Williams send to try to see how high he could kick it, for no reason.

Ameobi aside, our wingers are god awful. I really dislike 3 at the back but we have to find a ten that doesn't include Yanic Noone or Will.

Till Sammi gets back I'd go Doige through the middle (he's looked out of his depth when I've seen him but it's been cameos) Magennis right and Donaldson left. Horrific, ugly lump it football. It would be awful to watch but it's what we're trying to do now anyway so might as well give ourselves a chance.

Lowe to sit, two others to go box to box and get on the knock downs.

[TANGODANCER]

Amidst all the talk of teams and tactics, might it be an idea to organise some shooting practise and invite the players to try shooting at goal? See, whilst it's a fair while back now, when I played a fizzing shot at goal was always more difficult to deal with than any sort of keepy-uppy pat-a-cake stuff, you know, sort of like their first goal last night, or more relevant the couple Forest scored against us in that momentous great escape of ours ..... I'm trying hard to remember anything that vaguely resembles Ivan Campo's grass-cutter or a Sneekes lash or a Frandsen shot or even a Chris Eagles cannonball. I'm even trying to remember any opposition keeper having to do much dealing with shots so far this season? Oh, wait a minute, Sammi had a rocket that nearly broke the bar...Try it lads, it might work. Nowt to lose.

[bristol_Wanderer3]

For some reason (perhaps all the style talk) Parky is overcomplicating things. We need to go back to being the solid, efficient side who is good at set plays and gets the ball forward quickly and plays from there. Right now we're half trying to sit back, half trying to play pointless sideways football and half trying to attack teams in numbers. None of it is committed.

I like Parky - he's done a wonderful job here. I'd not sack him, but I'd also tell him "feck off trying to play - get some results". And if the Hull game is anything like last night even I would seriously be considering Big Mick to come and get us organised and disciplined and re-find a shape. We are a workmanlike side. So fecking play like it. Stop trying to appease fans with "football" because it isn't working - we create nothing and concede loads.

Wait... this is us trying to play good football?!?!?

I think its trying to pass the ball. Which when you aren't really designed to play that way makes you look shite.

I personally think its very very confused stuff. Start of the season our plan was clear and we stayed in games, were tough to break down and worked hard on set pieces and the occassional break. That won't always work but it gives you a chance. Now I think we're half trying to do that, half trying to play...its very very confused. The team at the start had an identity. It wasn't pretty but we were physical and robust.

Last night we had no identity apart from pure shite.

I do agree on the style/identity issue. I do wonder though if the genie can go back in the bottle however? It was simple last season, we didn't have any other option with the players we had. Now we do have better players. Olkowski, Lowe, Williams, Ozzy, even Hobbs and especially Wilson, are all good enough to keep the ball and naturally want to do so. It is going to be hard to just get them to lump it up to Magennis the majority of the time. And then our wide players and midfielders aren't so designed to run and chase and press the opposition now either.

Not sure what the answer is tbh. If we are to make the passing game work then we need to do more complex stuff with the front three and get them interchanging positions and moving around more. Right now we pass our way into the final third and then it falls down, largely because the front three are in fixed positions and are always marked. Ideally we would be able to mix it up effectively, but right now we are just, as you say, confused.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Also the first time I've had to suffer Tower/iFollow commentary. A particular low point was "Who's Barry Cowgill?"

Even I have heard of the druy.

Very good.

(He joined Ian Holloway to set up an accountant's firm.)

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I've had seventeen and a bit hours to mull over the debacle, that I not only witnessed, but paid to witness, last night.
I've come to these conclusions:
1) Our fans at away games are Stirling - so you can fxck off Ken with your constant fxcking whingeing. I sat last night in the away end, and it felt like being in with a bunch of slightly bemused business folk - they hardly displayed the passion or noise that we do when we're away (and they had nearly three times more support than we wield away, and still they hardly raised the roof off did they).
2) Our players are individually shit.
3) Our team is collectively inept.
4) Our manager doesn't. The sooner we're shot of him the better.
5) Our Chairman needs to do three things: shut the fxck up bashing the fans; get shot of the manager; get shot of himself.

On the bus back I could live with the joshing and general amusement at my expense because I could tell that my fellow work colleagues and antipathetic Forest fans were themselves generally unconvinced that they should have been the better team by such margins in strategy, tactics, goals, individual display and synergy.

[twilight]

I've just had a word with Blackadder and he's come up with a cunning plan. He say, "Stop giving them a one goal start every game (deny it if you can) and play like you are the better team in stead of looking like a bunch of slaves in a Roman arena."....I said I'd pass it on to Parky if I could.

While you're on your bike, pass it on to Mourinho

Since we seem incapable of actually playing football is there any chance we can practice our set pieces to at least give ourselves a fighting chance? Corners, free kicks and crosses were all woeful. Again

What, you weren't impressed by that one after 47 minutes when six of us ran in from 40 yards out and somehow all missed the ball?

DSB. That was a carbon copy of what Rotherham did on Saturday against us. Makes it even more embarassing because it's not his own tactics