Saturday's second half against Bournemouth was unacceptable. People might enjoy seeing endless repeats of Friends and Only Fools and Horses on TV, but there were no laughs at the City Ground - and if fans are subjected to repeats of that capitulation then the season is only heading one way.
But to what degree should one disastrous half define our judgements of a team which now has four points from six Premier League games? It is a team which should have seven points, or even nine after blowing a 2-0 led to lose 3-2 against Bournemouth. Forest should also rue that sloppy goal against Everton to draw. On the other hand, they could easily have drawn with West Ham or even lost the game.
There were some boos on the final whistle on Saturday as Forest players held their head in their hands having thrown away three precious points. On social media afterwards the reaction from some was expected.
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Every player from last season who started - Joe Worrall, Steve Cook, Scott McKenna and Brennan Johnson - is either not good enough or lazy, or both. Players on the bench should be in the side because they are much better and there were even question marks being asked of Steve Cooper's quality at the highest level.
That is not to say those people are undoubtedly wrong, but six games out of 38 is not enough to come to definitive judgements on anyone. If Forest are not good enough over 38 they will deserve to go down, but we cannot be so adamant about the course of a season so soon.
Look at Manchester United, Aston Villa and Everton. All three sides have been on the ropes already. They still are to varying degrees but are throwing punches back. United have rallied after their own shambolic effort against Brentford.
Steven Gerrard made tactical changes against Man City to get a draw against a side who thrashed Forest 6-0 and look a good bet to win the league again. Everton still have problems, but they dug in against Liverpool and got a good point.
Cooper and Forest have questions to answer but let's at least see how they do it with a run of games coming up which do not feature the league's elite. Leeds United away next Monday is a tough test though and not really the kind of side Forest want to be facing in their current state, with some players needing to show they have the mental strength to play at this level, not just the quality.
Leeds will press and press with a vociferous crowd behind them. It will be a real challenge for the Reds and Cooper's team selection and tactics will be fascinating.
The team he picked against Bournemouth was castigated as Ryan Yates and Cheikhou Kouyate lined up in midfield and once again there was no central striker. Seeing Remo Freuler and/or Lewis O'Brien start in midfield would have been desirable, as would one of Taiwo Awoniyi or Emmanuel Dennis.
Cooper's selection did not work, but there was a logic behind it with Bournemouth dominating midfield when teams met in April, plus Yates and Kouyate were able to defend and attack set pieces against a physical side. That was made clear when Kouyate headed in a corner and Yates was off the pitch when Bournemouth scored from one.
Meanwhile Morgan Gibbs-White, Brennan Johnson and Jesse Lingard earned deserved plaudits against Tottenham as Cooper went without an attacking focal point.
Overall the team selection backfired spectacularly though, especially in the second half when Bournemouth's tactical change to play wing-backs turned the tide. The decision to bring on Jack Colback ahead of Freuler and O'Brien also raised eyebrows, as good as Colback has been for the club.
Forest could do with settling on a back three as Moussa Niakhate proves a big miss, as does Orel Mangala in midfield. Awoniyi and Dennis will be desperate to show what they can do as well after mostly watching from the bench, as will Freuler given his Champions League experience with Atalanta.
It is probably the first time in Cooper's almost year in charge he has been questioned at all. A year ago Forest were bottom of the Championship, but Cooper has worked a miracle since then.
Things can change so quickly, as the sentiment surrounding the prospects of in particular United show. They might lose to Arsenal this afternoon and suddenly negativity returns around Erik ten Hag's team. The pendulum swings wildly from one extreme to the other around the emotions of football. That is one reason why it is so great. At the start of the season though Forest fans all said we'll need to stick together, back Steve Cooper and back the team when times are tough.
Now is the time to deliver on that sentiment at a time when rival clubs will relish every Forest failure after their big summer signing spree. A result at Leeds can change emotions just as dramatically, rightly or wrongly.
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