It's No Brien Now...
Lewis O’Brien’s nightmare day just got worse with Nottingham Forest leaving him out of their Premier League squad.
Midfielder O’Brien has dropped out of the group named by Steve Cooper for the rest of the season and can now only play under-23 games.
It is a savage setback just hours after the EFL said no to Blackburn's request to have O’Brien registered on loan before the deadline.
Rovers have seven days to appeal against that decision but their chances of success seem limited.
And the situation is just as horrific for O’Brien who is now facing life in the ‘stiffs’ rather than chasing promotion with Blackburn.
Blackburn Rovers were turned down by the EFL in their bid to sign midfielder Lewis O’Brien from Nottingham Forest.
Stunned Rovers submitted their case to explain why some paperwork was missing in the loan transfer but the board rejected their claims.
Now furious O’Brien will return to Forest, possibly playing under-21 football for the rest of the season.
Blackburn have seven days to lodge an appeal and are expected to do so.
And Rovers will face calls from angry fans for heads to roll after a deal that could have helped them make the play offs collapses.
The focus will turn to how the mistake was made with two administrative staff on hand to finalise the transfer after O’Brien passed a medical.
Leading officials Steve Waggott and Suhail Pasha were at the FA Cup tie in Birmingham while the potential £10 million move was going through in Lancashire.
Secretary Ian Silvester was left to send across the relevant forms.
The club put together their case and the reasons why there was a delay. However the EFL stuck to their rule book.
With the transfer being potentially the biggest of the season in the EFL there really was no room for errors.
It is a devastating blow for coach Jon Dahl Tomasson who wanted O’Brien in his team for the Wigan game on Monday.
After a frustrating window Rovers have only landed Sorba Thomas from Huddersfield. Tomasson pleaded with his bosses not to waste a window…but that is exactly what they have done.
Story courtesy of Alan Nixon @reluctantnicko