Don’t worry, LTLF hasn’t gone all horticultural on you; the GM we’re referring to here is Gary Megson, rather than Genetically Modified. After yet another poor showing versus Barnsley, we’re left pondering where this freefall is going to finish, and whether somebody is going to remember to pull the ripcord before we break both legs when we finally hit rock bottom.

After bearing the brunt of vocal abuse both at the City Ground and from a section of the away support who’d stayed behind and congregated near the tunnel in Barnsley, Megson made a sixty yard walk that felt like his longest ever. Megson found sanctuary within Oakwell, and his players received a similar torrent. And just to show they weren’t sore losers, the travelling Forest fans then applauded the Barnsley players who had deservedly beaten us by two goals to nil.

The question is, why is it going wrong? It took a very cynical person to not be impressed with the bulk of Megson’s signings – aside from a striker (which he clearly tried to bring in as well), he was plugging all the right gaps and he was getting rid of all the right wasters (even those who questioned his decision to transfer list David Johnson can feel appeased at his restoration to the side).

Where Paul Hart, Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford failed, Megson stepped in – and despite not preventing relegation last season, his ability to bring in a swathe of players he chose – mostly from divisions above us – left me confident that, whilst we perhaps wouldn’t be table-toppers, playing top notch football, we’d at least be challenging and working hard. Yet we don’t seem to be. Megson doesn’t seem to know what the problem is either – or he doesn’t want to tell the media about it, choosing instead to take responsibility himself.

Media interviews are funny – every manager has a different style, and it’s really interesting how amazingly changeable the reactions of fans on internet forums or in person can be. Paul Hart was criticised for his blunt media nature and his frequent use of clichéd phrases like "worked our socks off". Joe Kinnear was rightly criticised for either slobbily chomping his way through food whilst talking, or not talking at all when results when badly. Mick Harford always came across well in the media – albeit during his short spell with us. 

Gary Megson, for me, is always forthright, honest and to the point – there’s certain things he can’t say, of course, but I think he tells us more than he has to. Yet he gets accused of shirking responsibilities, of talking bullshit, and other such nonsense. What people expect him to do is beyond me – the man has accepted his share of responsibility, indeed, more than what he is directly responsible for in my opinion. He has had the players in everyday training, which he says is not being enacted on the pitch on matchdays.

It’s fully understandable that fans are upset – hell, I know I am! But this ceaseless search for scapegoats is no help to anyone – it fuels arguments and divisions between fans who support the same team and engenders booing or heckling during the game – none of this is any good for Nottingham Forest FC. After the final whistle is a good time to express dissatisfaction, not before. Of course, we all have our own opinions about how the club should be run and who should be running it, but not one of us is ‘right’ other than in our own heads, so let us encourage reasoned debate rather than ugly arguments.

So for me Megson must be given more time – I certainly know that many of you think otherwise (assuming the internet forum community is a reasonable sample of fans) and I can understand the reasons why. But just like those who want Megson gone, I cannot see an obvious answer to the question posed in the title of this article: what has gone wrong with Gary Megson’s crop of players?

What does Gary Megson need to do to get the best out of his players? Email your views to forest_1979@hotmail.com.