Don't agree it is too late. Would you rather we went for ambitious targets and failed then had backups, or rather just go for the 'backups' straight away? Personally I think we should be going for the best players we can attract, if they don't think we're big enough for them then so be it, but you have to try and get the best options available for the club to grow.
Even if Forren had signed by last weekend, he probably wouldn't have played against Everton anyway due to fitness issues. Jos hasn't let us down and can do a job, Forren will probably come in for the Wigan match I would guess.
I'm sure we put feelers out to a huge number of players, make enquiries, see the availabilty, suss out whether the player is interested, and then decide whether to put in a formal offer. It's not as easy as, highlight a target then put a bid in and hope he wants to come. Lot more complicated than that.