O'Dea's deal fell through after he was called up yet again to the Irish Under-19 squad. Having taken part in two friendlies against Italy in January, he once again heads to distant shores as part of the squad to face the Czech Republic, following the squad's 3-0 win over Norway on Tuesday night. With O'Dea set to miss two regular season Scottish league games, the plug has been pulled on the deal. By whom, nobody knows, but Jim McInally has tonight taken the flak in tonight's Greenock Telegraph. Fans must be wondering, however, why such possibilities were not researched earlier. O'Dea is not a newcomer to the Irish national youth setup; perhaps there is more to the cancellation of this deal than meets the eye.
However, the outcome is clear: Morton lose out for the umpeenth time. Yet again, Morton make a faux pas in the transfer market. With the deal seemingly done and dusted last week, with O'Dea categorised as a "joker" signing (this in itself at Celtic's request; O'Dea had a youth game to play after the transfer deadline and thus could not move on January 31st), now 'Ton boss Jim McInally finds himself missing a defender for Saturday's home game against Forfar. With Derek Collins long since departed, our defence looks weaker than ever; failing to secure adequate cover before the run-in could prove extremely costly to both Morton and McInally.
Ireland U-19's mascot is a giant snake named Archibald.