Disjointed, disappointing and in disarray.....

A 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich may have bought the first league point in five games but it did little to say that Forest are about to go on a run that will drag them back up to safety.

In what was comfortably the worst showing at the City Ground this season the Reds were unable to even rely on the old 'we played well but....' line. Quite simply towards the end it was amateurish.

The night had the doomed forebearings of a relegation battle for the first time at home. With 24 hours to contemplate and cool down somewhat here's a stab at rating the dismal showing -

Lee Camp - 7
Was a little lucky not to be beaten by a rasping Jon Walters strike which rebounded off the bar but overall looked alert, solid and was unlucky not to save Tommy Miller's penalty. Looked to be proactive with his distribution but wasn't helped towards the end by the woeful lack of forward options.

Luke Chambers - 4
Desperately needs to be dropped. Is not good enough for this level and looks increasingly shorn of confidence now that he is starting to realise this. Weak in the tackle, not strong enough on the ball, poor in the air and appalling crossing - these attributes have defined his season and were all shown in this match. Many argue that he's 'out of position' but these inadequacies would not make a start at centre back any more desirable.

Julian Bennett - 6
One super tackle in the first half denied a clear goal scoring chance and although people criticise his use of the ball he was missed when the hapless Lynch took his place. His injury will be a blow and leaves us without a proper full back in the squad.

Kelvin Wilson - 5
His casual, bordering on cocky, play is costing us on too many occasions. His distribution is frankly far worse than Wes' and he does not look as strong in the tackle or in the air as his defensive partner. Must improve.

Wes Morgan - 7
Tackled and headed well in a sound showing against the tricky Pablo Counago. Also weighed in with some heroic blocks. Played one cracking scooped ball towards the end of the game which was 10 times better than what the midfield had come up with all game - which said alot about the abject display of those in front of him.

Paul Anderson - 6
Looked quick and lively on the right wing but his team mates failed to get the ball to him in telling positions on enough occasions and had very little to cross at. Conceded the penalty when tracking back.

Carl Fletcher - 4
I'm trying to think of a more inept home debut in a Reds shirt than this one. Barely had a touch all game and severely struggled to win the ball back.

Chris Cohen - 3
Was an absolute shambles from start to finish. I get fed up of people bleating on about his hard work. He chased shadows, hardly won a tackle all game, didn't have a shot and his passing was atrocious. Often looked too slow and too weak for this level. It said alot about him and his central midfield partner Fletcher that McGugan had to be brought on to shore up a midfield that was totally and utterly overran.

Garath McCleary - 5
Scored a very good goal but struggled to make an impact on the left - often finding no way past a solid looking Mauritz Volz.

Andrew Cole - 6
I actually thought he worked hard in the first half and looked as though he could slide through a telling ball which is more than can be said for the awful midfield. Never had a sniff in the box.

Nathan Tyson - 5
Looked completely out of his depth. Isn't strong enough on the ball and doesn't have the creative talents to set up chances for team mates. Worked hard but was isolated at the end when forced to play up front on his own.

Subs -
Joel Lynch - 4
I felt a little sorry for him when he came on and received a stiff challenge straight away. Never settled after that but nevertheless it must be said that he looked woeful on the ball and a little bit of a defensive liability. I fear we may have stumbled across the left back version of Chambers.

Lewis McGugan - 6
Came on and straight away looked positive - playing a decent through ball and trying his luck with a shot from the edge of the area. Let himself down at the death with the odd lazy touch and a poor free kick.

Lee Martin - 5
Gone is the effervescent livewire winger that arrived on loan from Man Utd and in his place is a poor, sloppy, pale imitation who, when on as a substitute did nothing at all.

The team as a whole failed to get the best out of McCleary and Anderson on the wings. Fletcher and Cohen were pitiful and their inability to get a foothold in the midfield battle meant Calderwood felt compelled to bring on McGugan. The only problem with this was that in order to bring Lewis on CC took off Cole and thus halved our already paltry goalscoring threat - leaving the naieve Tyson to fend off meagre scraps.

At the end we saw Lynch shanking the ball out of play, Cohen and Fletcher chasing shadows in men vs boys midfield contest, Chambers putting over two dreadful centres and getting caught out at the back, Tyson desperately unable to make an impact on his own and Martin blasting the ball out of play in a shockingly bad attempt to buy a corner. Taken as a whole this shoddy play looked dreadful.

The signs were not good. As a result the club will attempt to paint this as a potential turning point. As a performance it may be a very different type of turning point.

A much better showing is needed on Saturday to lift the doom and gloom that sadly appeared to be setting in against Ipswich......