One of those seasons?

Another one of those games, no question. The real poser is whether or not this is becoming one of those seasons.

Despite rarely even flirting with competence Forest had enough chances to win three games. But a series of dubious calls by Davies and the anguishing absence of any good fortune saw Forest slump to a gloomy home defeat.

There can be no complaints. Davies favours containment and revels in wringing points from despondent performances, but when it doesn’t work it’s miserable stuff.

Blackpool are a cumbersome bunch of simple virtue. They stumble and barge their way to points, playing into the channels and limiting much of their possession to the back four. Sadly, Forest pandered to their every whim with a strategy of unrelenting through balls into the abyss.

The fleet of gilt-edged chances that shortly preceded the winning goal were the product of clumsy Blackpool errors and Tyson breakaways. There was very little else to offer.

The longer the visitors held the lead, the fewer errors there were. Tyson’s energy dwindled in tandem, leaving us with nothing.

Earnshaw’s withdrawal seemed as much of an error as McGoldrick’s starting berth, and there are few things more tedious in football than the sight of ‘big men up front’ who aren’t winning headers.

The final 20 minutes should have been a siege for the points. Instead they were monotonous and predictable.

Blackpool eased down the clock; the modest pack of visiting fans found their voices and the dissenting home crowd collapsed into an exasperated sulk.

The full-time boo-boys were drowned out by begrudging applause. But too many more points squirming down the drain and the notoriously impatient Nottingham public will find themselves enduring an uncomfortably familiar winter of discontent.

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Lessons learned: McGoldrick and Earnshaw is a fruitless partnership. Earnshaw is the club’s most reliable marksman and should start every game alongside one of the lumps.

If Cohen is to start he must play in his natural position, not as a right winger, a left winger, a defender, or indeed a floating striker. What must the army of attackers on the bench have made of his uncomfortable advanced role?

Lynch and Chambers probably wouldn’t make the Notts County team.

Playing 4-5-1 at home to Blackpool (with ankle-biting Earnshaw is a focal point) is fundamentally wrong.

Ratings:

Camp – 6.5 – not his strongest performance.

Gunter – 7 – found himself at the byline playing searching balls into the box on three or four occasions, always a positive sign for a full back.

Chambers – 5 – endless side-footed balls looping to the Blackpool defence.

Morgan – 5.5 – dealt with the ensuing Chalie Adam with all the grace of an over-turned wagon.

Lynch – 5.5 – sometimes incompetent, sometimes a passenger.

Cohen – 6 – out of position, despite trying out several.

Moussi – 6 – some good points, but when he isn’t doing something remarkable (which he is capable of) he doesn’t seem to be doing much.

McKenna – 6.5 – strong, but lost in a system of long balls.

McGoldrick – 6 - to be brutally honest, I don't see the point of him yet.

Tyson – 7 – our only outlet

Earnshaw – 6.5 – busy and dangerous, but should have scored.

A sea of red (and a blue pillar)

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Hillsborough was queen of stadia in its day but time has pulled no punches in drawing it in line with its grim surroundings. Today the searing late-summer sunshine showcased the rusting blemishes of every corrugated wall.

But the sea of red shirts flooding Leppings Lane was a beautiful sight nonetheless, and for a few precious minutes it seemed the afternoon was going to be all about us.

Spurred by our own ability to assemble such a crowd, the boisterous visiting fans puffed their chests and blew the ball over the line after what felt like seconds.

But the noise dipped, the novelty faded and the performance collapsed helplessly into the realms of mundane, and later simply unpleasant.

Misleading early signs were that Anderson’s pace, Garner’s guts and Blackstock’s presence would be too much for an average Wednesday side.

Shortly after taking the lead Joe Garner spurned a fine opportunity by placing a glorious tee-off straight through a blue pillar and into grasping range of the keeper.

And Blackstock buckled when a scything cross-box ball fell to him with only a blue pillar to beat.

Sadly the blue pillar proved less of an obstruction when Wednesday began their resurgence.

Forest picked up bad habits, squandering possession carelessly and settling for roundhouse volleys into no man’s land. For a long time we cleared immediate danger with this ham-fisted strategy but the equaliser had always seemed inevitable.

Wednesday stuck to their task, growing in confidence throughout the half and deserving their share of the outcome.

In the second half, attacking the swamp of red, there were fleeting signs of a revival. The hosts continued to make better use of the ball, but there were enough bright sparks in the Forest side to keep hopes of an unwarranted victory alive well into stoppage time.

On two occasions in the second half the ball was sent zipping across Wednesday’s goal-line, begging in vain for a conversion.

No such luck. A win would have flattered us, and the performance asked more questions than it answered. But we had the better chances and were only a toe-poke away from a vintage Billy Davies smash-and-grab.

More irritating than the performance was the continued intervention of the blue pillars. And more irritating than the pillars was the referee, an outed Scargill-sympathiser with astoundingly selective eyesight.

Ratings

Camp – 7 – gobbled up every hanging ball with impeccable timing and confidence.

Gunter – 7 – great spirit coming forward and solid at the back.

Chambers – 5.5 – never too far from an accident.

Morgan – 7.5 – some great lunging tackles and a successful brick wall policy throughout.

Lynch – 5 – woeful distribution; mindless long balls looping off target all game.

Anderson – 8 – a real handful

McKenna – 6 – his poorest game at the club. Great desire and work rate, as ever, but played some bizarre passes into enemy territory.

Cohen – 5 – sloppy and off the pace. Needs a settled role in the side.

Garner – 6 – scrappy and determined, but cruising towards a second yellow and a necessary sacrifice for the system.

Blackstock – 7 - kept busy and took his goal well.

McGoldrick – 6.5 – decent performance.