No good came from a premature obituary, but the same could be said to take two five -game victories when the possibilities are so rich.
It is for the great credit of Nuno Espirito Santo that the place of Nottingham Forest in the first four can support some bamboles and, nevertheless, the doubts about their power of permanence are being dragged.
All indicators of Saturday's defeat in Fulham, where they were hit without mercy of Alex Iwobi and Adama Traore, told a team that lost their legs at an inopportune.
Nuno makes a good play in the mantra 'One Game at the same time', but if the campaigns are determined by how you handle certain groups of accessories, in key periods, then their next three in the league feel like a defining section.
After Newcastle on Sunday, they face Arsenal and Manchester City. That could be their creation, or it could be a cold water awakening, so those of us who have savored their lightning ray will not give a lot of heart to the performance of the weekend.
A adjusted marker should not disguise the nature of the hiding place, which allowed Fulham, a good side that is very good, to overcome the forest for the second time this season. They were beaten in all areas of tone and in all configurations.
The Premier League High-Flyers Nottingham Forest lost 2-1 in Fulham on Saturday afternoon
The forest struggled to deal with the rhythm and the end of the extreme Alex Iwobi (right) in Craven Cottage
The next in the league for the team of Nuno Espirito Santo are Newcastle, Arsenal and then Man City
When Nuno tried to counterattack three with his back with wings, as they had done so well by slapping seven tones of Brighton the previous weekend, they were completely destroyed in the spaces behind the flanks.
In a 20 -minute passage of the first half, Traore obtained by Neco Williams three times and made a goal for Emile Smith Rowe. Adjusting a 1-1 solution, after Chris Wood had matched with his goal 18 of the season, Nuno went on a four back and improved, but did not find any reliable path through Marco Silva's press.
In the end, Calvin Bassey's header had given Fulham his second, but he could have been four or five because of the possibilities they created. Williams wore a protective mask, but each of Nuno's headlines shared the look of having first met a wall face.
The primary impression is that the forest is tired. There is no shame in that and it would also be predictable: Nuno has used only 23 players this season, the youngest of any manager in the Premier League. Nine of them have started 18 league games or more and the fragilities of the second chain were shown by the Copa FA almost missed in Exeter on Tuesday.
The consistency of the staff has been among the strengths of Nuno, but its players are carrying a lot of lactic acid to the last third of the season.
His margin for the fifth is still healthy in four points, although that place is in the hands of Bournemouth, who hits them for five and they are going well, and the sixth and seventh are occupied by Chelsea and Newcastle. Even on the back of a bad round of games, they are not two clubs that you want to see in the rearview mirror.
An interesting factor in broader European discussions is Fulham. They have staggered between fine and very good in a curiously unstable season: points of the Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle have been taken, with four fell to Ipswich, and on Saturday he exhibited his best team.
His navigation through the forest was more comprehensive than anything that even Liverpool has achieved. When faced by one side that can be lethal at the counter, it is worth making few mistakes and Silva's side never fell from the high cable.
Silva spoke of 'dominating' the game, but also highlighted how he knew precisely what system Nuno would choose and how they would play it. Has a predictable fraction become a forest? Silva certainly seemed to have his number.
For Fulham, a place in the league of the conference can be achieved eminently, but the qualification for the Europa League also remains possible.
Smith Rowe said: 'He is really tight on the top of the table, but we have to continue winning, keep working hard. We really show what we are capable and we have defeated the forest twice, we have to move on.