Bureaucracy holds O'Brien back - February 1, 2001
Ronnie O'Brien's chance to impress Nottingham Forest boss David Platt came and went last night as he was forced to sit out their reserve game against Wimbledon because his international clearance failed to arrive from the Italian FA.
The Juventus striker, who is on a week's trial at the City Ground, was hoping for his chance last night to earn a loan move, but it was scuppered. Now Platt might have to make a decision without seeing the Bray-born youngster play.
With twelve Irish players already at Forest it would have taken Ronnie no time to settle into the surroundings but now he might not get the chance. Instead he might have to return to Italy and become a forgotten man once more with Juventus.
Ronnie has been with Juve for three years and they seem to rate him highly enough to keep him on their books. He signed a five-year deal with the Italian giants but with players of the calibre of Zidane, Del Piero and Inzaghi he will find it hard to break into the team.