Aston Villa blog: Time for Steve Bruce to turn the slump around
With Steve Bruce's latest apology ringing in my ears from the performance on Tuesday, it was off to the city ground for our next nightmare televised away performance to endure.
I went and sat with my neighbour in the Forest end on Saturday and it was interesting to see it from an opponent's point of view, writes Aston Villa blogger Justin Hawthorne.
All the talk in the home end was how poor they have been and not expected much, but they hadn't seen Villa's away woes yet.
The change of formation and style we were promised in the pre-match press conference turned out to be that of a 3-5-2 set up, with debuts for Hogan and Bree.
Like the game against Brentford we started brightly and took the lead with a lovely strike from Jonathan Kodjia and once again that proved to be the highlight of the game.
As Villa have done in recent weeks they began to sit deeper and deeper, inviting the opposition on to us. And eventually another mistake cost us the lead, this time from Sam Johnstone.
I still can't understand why we haven't signed an experienced goalkeeper, especially considering how important the position is for making a realistic run at promotion.
The second half quickly turned into an end to end affair with Villa creating the better chances. Scott Hogan was very unlucky not to score on his debut and James Chester was then denied by a stunning save from Stephen Henderson, Forest's man of the match.
Then came the sending off, a silly yellow in the first half came back to haunt Jack Grealish when he tripped ex-Villa man Eric Lichaj to receive his second booking and subsequent sending off.
If I were him I'd spend my suspension taking a good look at myself in the mirror as he is in ever-increasing danger of letting his promising career drift away.
At the moment Villa fans are quickly becoming frustrated with him, and given a continuation of these kinds of games, Steve Bruce may begin to agree with them.
Heading into the game against Ipswich, I'd stick to the formation but introduce Neil Taylor on the left and bring Mile Jedinak back if fit, allowing the likes of Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane to head forward more effectively.
For now it seems that the pressure is mounting on Bruce to get results, especially after the backing he has received in the transfer window.
I'm just praying they can turn this slump around soon, or they might have to start looking over our shoulders.
