This week's fan column is brought to you by the letter F.

A fortnight is a long old time in football, isn't it? 

Two weeks ago, I dedicated this page to discussing the mentality Johannes Hoff Thorup had instilled in this team off the back of a resilient comeback away at Preston. 

Since then we've had another tremendous comeback against Boro which left me feeling pretty vindicated having again shown spirit in the face of adversity.

However, this has been followed up with two quick-fire blows to confidence that have really bitten.

First it was the late capitulation in Cardiff which was swiftly followed by the Hillsborough horror show.

The latter performance in particular would likely have left plenty of City fans blurting out a certain F-word. 

However, in lieu of that one being permitted to appear in these pages, I'm pitching a few alternatives.

Flatness

The first one that immediately sprung to mind during the Wednesday game in particular is flatness.

Everything about the display felt flat - lacking purpose, drive and - another F -word - functionality.

As we often do, we had the lion's share of the ball, but at no point did it ever really feel like we were going to do anything productive with it.

For the first time since the opening day of the season, it just felt like having the ball, as opposed to using it.

Fortune (or a lack of)

I know in the wake of poor performances it is always tempting  to reach for the lowest dangling fruit in mitigation - but in this case, it is inescapable.

If at the very start of the season any City fan was to name the four players you would least want out at the same time, I'd wager Gunn, McLean, Nunez and Sargent would have heavily featured.

Losing any of these four players would have an unquestionable impact, as we saw last season when Sargent and Gunn in particular had their spells on the sideline.

Sargent gives us a focal point and is the very definition of a 'handful'.

McLean makes things tick and leads by huge example.

Gunn commands his box and breeds so much confidence in his back four and Nunez covers every single blade of grass.

To lose all four of them at once is the kind of fortune that nobody deserves. 

Frustration

Particularly against Sheffield Wednesday there was so much visible frustration - in the stands, on the touchline and on the pitch.

Obviously, it is massively frustrating to be without so many key players but equally seeing players grow visibly frustrated with one another is a worrying sign.

It felt as though the game plan was limited to trying to give the ball to Sainz and hoping for the best, which is a long way off where we need to be.

Flagging

This has been a worrying feature in the past two games - we appear to be flagging. Or for an alternative F-word - fatigued.

Clearly this is largely down to the number of injuries and the lack of options, meaning players who have not played much football are suddenly having to play far more minutes than they're ready to do.

But worryingly, we are only just a quarter of the way into the season. 

With a full bill of health, you'd hope this wouldn't prove much of an issue, but questions must be asked of the fitness regime if we are already flagging and barely in November. 

Fortress

I'm not sure how the fixture computer managed to pull this off, but four of our last five games have been away from Carrow Road.

The haul of two points from a possible 12 from these matches emphasises the vital importance of our home form - which has seen us go a full calendar year unbeaten.

Only Manchester City are currently on a longer run without tasting defeat at home and this has got to continue if we are to stand any hope of making the play-offs. 

Three of our next four games are now at Carrow Road - a welcome taste of home comfort. But equally, it is vital that it continues to be a fortress.

Forson

(Image: PA/ Mike Egerton)

The early signs of Amankwah Forson were so positive - when he came on against Oxford he brought a real spark with him.

His next appearance also looked incredibly bright and it really felt like we had a player on our hands.

And yet, with a quarter of the season now played I still don't really feel like I know what he is.

Is he a centre midfielder? Is he an attacker? Does he prefer playing wide or centrally? 

I think we saw enough early on to see there is something to be tapped into, but I'd like to see him given a bit more purpose and direction in how he is being used.

Faith

I'm no man of religion, but faith is going to be immensely important this season, particularly throughout this difficult period of injuries.

We have seen that when our full squad is fit and firing, we are going to be a force to be reckoned with under Thorup.

When things were starting to look good, the mood around the place was lifted and it was starting to feel like peak Farke in terms of the unity and the atmosphere.

The last thing anybody would need though is for the same rumblings of discontent to rear their heads again.

We seem to be entering what is going to be a tough spell, there's no avoiding that, but we absolutely have to keep faith.