You cannot beat a good away day. The excitement, the raucous atmosphere, the passion.
Such a shame that last night's game lacked all of that.
It was my first away day since that depressing night in Swansea and as per usual, I went with the quiet optimism that we could snatch a result.
Leicester weren't in great form, beaten on their own patch at the weekend, we've been better away from home this season and it was a welcome distraction from the league.
How wrong was I?
I know in my past entries, I've been upbeat, finding the positives and stating, almost begging fans to realise that it's not as bad as everyone thinks.
Last night, I was well and truly made to eat humble pie.
We were appalling. There were so many things wrong with the performance, I simply wouldn't know where to begin. I genuinely cannot stress how dreadful it was. My old Sunday morning team would have stood a chance last night.
As footballers, they couldn't hold on to the ball, they couldn't pass the ball 10/20 yards and they were lacking in discipline.
As for Nottingham Forest footballers, they lacked passion, enthuasism, motivation, I could go on and on.
As for Cotterill, it's time for him to earn his wages. In fairness, I don't think too much was wrong with his tactics. Two defensive midfielders, away from home, a formation that has worked for us recently and a much needed rest for Marcus Tudgay.
At 2-0 down, he made the necessary changes to go and attack and try and get ourselves back into it. But it was just never good enough.
We weren't on the same pitch in the opening half hour and by the time we did wake up and have an attack. We were 2-0 down and the game was over.
The first goal was embarrassing. No-one went out to meet the cross and the ball was always going to end up in the net. The second one is unlucky, but its this kind of luck that disappears when you're down the bottom. If Campy leaves the whipped cross, it goes out for a throw-in. However, he doesn't know that no-one's behind him and has to throw a glove at it. In doing so, he plants it perfectly onto Beckford's head. What are the chances?!
The most frustrating thing, was when we played football, we walked through the defence. How many times have I said that this season? We saw Findley miss a sitter, Harewood miss a chance 6 yards out and a Lynch header that were all created following simple football. How hard is it to realise it works?!
I can't believe this time two years ago, we demolished a West Brom side on their own turf. How times have changed.
The injuries cannot be ignored nor can they be used as an excuse. But it's no coincidence that Leicester, and Beckford in particular, enjoyed themselves so much with the makeshift defence we put out.
It was just a shambles from start to finish and it was a horrible night to witness.
The only positive was the fans. I've given them their fair amount of stick on this blog and rightly deserved in my opinion. I've said before, every fan is entitled to their opinion, they've spent their money to be there. But the opinion must be realistic and plausible.
So chanting Billy Davies' name doesn't help anyone. I began this blog back in August, stating that the time was probably right for a change in the hope to move forward.
That definitely hasn't happened and Doughty called it wrong. But chanting Davies' name is useless. It was the wrong decision but it cannot be rectified. He won't be brought back for a number of reasons, but the main one, is the one we've heard far too many times: Money.
We couldn't afford to pay the compensation for Cotterill's men so how on earth would it be plausible for us to pay off Cotterill and then begin paying Davies again?
For any fans who don't see where I'm going with this...ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
Just because he's on ESPN, doesn't mean he's on his way back anytime soon. He needs income just like the rest of us. Enough of the Davies chants. Back the manager, it's the only way we're going to get ourselves out of this.
However, they did stay humourous throughout and came up with some hilarious chants such as 'let's pretend we've just scored' and 'Andy Reid, he eats what he wants'.
It was that bad on the pitch that if the fans didn't laugh, they would almost certainly cry.
As for the players ratings, I'm not sure there's much point. No-one put in a good enough performance that would equal higher than 2/10 and no-one stood up to be counted. The best player on the night was Lynch and he was taught a footballing lesson from Beckford and Nugent.
As for the future, I'm left a little speechless by it all. If every performance is like that, then we'll be relegated and in administration before we know it.
Enough's enough. That performance was as low as it gets and it's now up to Cotterill, the players, the staff and ourselves as fans to fight to stay in this division.
The fixtures don't get any easier, so we can make a go of it or go down with a whimper.
As I write this, the club have announced the arrival of Sean o' Driscoll. This has to be excellent news. He worked wonders with an average Doncaster team and he plays football in the right manner. It's the first addition to the managerial team that Cotterill has been able to make and fingers crossed, it will be benficial to the team.
On a final note, one 'fan' tweeted to Radio Nottingham 'Time for Doughty to get his chequebook out.'
Is this guy for real? Or just so desperate to get his name on the radio, that he wrote the most ridiculous rubbish.
I've made my feelings quite clear regarding those mindless 'supporters' who protested for Doughty out. But he's gone and is only the owner of the club. Nothing more. He has no reason to give his own money to the club.
The only thing we can hope now, is his feelings as a fan of the club are stronger than his feelings about being protested against and he is able to give some money in attempt to save this club.
I somehow doubt he will even bother ringing up his financial advisors.
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