Season 9 Episode 26 Episode 382 Sky One Transmission Date: Sunday 16th April 2006* Directed By Joss Agnew

One last team photo... but with who? Lynda Marek, Jimmy, Ryan Cass And now Lynda knows!

GS: Duval (William Travis) Jimmy [Birdman] (Martin Maynard) Marek (Noel Le Bon) Ian Finch (Sam James) The team are preparing to leave for The Valley when Eugene feels his neck go after messing around with Casper. Alex is told that Eugene will need at least a week's rest. Two men sit in a car outside Studs, and Jimmy says he'll go in first. Jimmy gets chatting to Ryan, and mentions he went out with his sister once. The second man walks into Studs shortly after, and the man, Marek, celebrates as his "home town" Denken have just taken the lead against Groclin at a match in Poland. Jimmy makes a £500 bet with Marek, that Groclin will draw at the final score. With only ten minutes left and Denken leading 2-1, Marek is sure he can't lose. Alex gets a call from a desperate Lynda, who has been attacked in prison as the other women and their men all bought shares, and Dragonscorp have refused to pay her bail. Watching on a website called Groondsparc, the game suspiciously finishes 3-3, and Marek turns on Jimmy, demanding his money back. Before things can turn nasty, Ryan steps in and hands Marek his own money. When Jimmy lets Ryan in on how he is a close associate of someone who could help Harchester out tomorrow, for the right price, Ryan throws Jimmy out of Studs. He returns to Marek, who reveals the game they showed Ryan was from last year and now just have to wait as the bait has been laid. Ryan is surprised when Eugene walks into Studs out injured. Ryan knows this is bad as Casper is not his best without Eugene, and decides to contact Jimmy again. Casper organises the sale of his flat in Rome in order to get Lynda out of prison and Alex back concentrating on the game. Jimmy informs Ryan his brother will be the 4th Official at the game, so once the main official is taken out it's all clear for Jimmy's brother who will favour Harchester. To pay Jimmy, they agree that Ryan will hand over half before the game, and half when the Dragon’s victory is assured. To complete the payment, Ryan has to ask Eugene for help, claiming that he owes money from gambling. Eugene wants to come along and see who is "hassling" Ryan for money in his old ‘yard’. The next morning Alex is awoken by Lynda, phoning excitedly to tell him she's out and is coming to the game. Alex is full of encouragement for the match. For everyone but Casper this is, whom he informs he won't be starting today. Lynda goes back to the Lair and is shocked when Duval informs her that Dragonscorp have accepted her resignation, and weren't the ones who paid her bail. Casper storms onto the coach next to Ashleigh, blaming her for he being put on the bench. They get onto the subject of she and Ryan, where Casper gives his take on how her drinking took over again, though she tries to tell him nothing happened. Marek, in disguise as a steward, hands the intended referee a laced cup of tea. While Ryan and Eugene wait, the radio announces the ref has fallen ill and will be replaced by Ian Finch. Ryan is all set to hand over the money to Jimmy, only for three of Eugene's mates to pull up and menacingly whip out metal batons. Ryan pleads with Eugene to call off his friends, but Eugene isn't having any of it. Ryan feels terrible after Jimmy's beating and berates Eugene for being an idiot. Ryan runs to the stadium and makes it inside the ref's room. He startles Ian Finch, who claims he has no idea what Ryan is talking about and isn't in on any deal. The commotion continues out into the tunnel where Gavin overhears some of it. The game kicks off as Lynda arrives at the stadium having hitched a lift, and an old Charlton contact allows her in to watch the game. During the first half, Ian Finch makes a number of controversial decisions, none of which are in Harchester's favour. Liam is yellow carded for a non-harmful challenge, and Finch permits a goal by Charlton which should have been disallowed. After challenging Finch on his decisions, both Sully and Tyson are shown yellow cards. When Eugene now notices the connection between Jimmy and Ian Finch, he confronts Ryan over what he believes is him bribing a Rookie-Ref. As they argue, Lynda walks through behind them and listens. Ryan believes Ian Finch has gone against Harchester because Eugene had his brother beaten up, and realises that by starting this whole thing he might have cost Harchester the game. On the pitch, Finch continues to seemingly work against Harchester, this time allowing another off-side goal and sending Danny off with a red! Everyone knows the Dragons are in serious trouble... Notes: Best Known For: Aside from his acting, Noel Le Bon is the Bassist with the group Colorfactory and appeared in the films "A Knight's Tale" (2001) and "The Illusionist" (2006) The Best: The tout yelling after Lynda "Didn't you used to be Lynda Block?!" Quotes: Chloe (on “Idiot-Finch’s” refereeing): "That goal was NOT a goal!!" Continuity: Casper flashes back to his pro days at Charlton (9.11 War Of The Roses). Additional Info: Nikki Grahame, who goes on to compete in the seventh series of “Big Brother” in 2006, appears in an extra role as Damien Evans’ (Arvey Betts) girlfriend for this and the next episode. What Was The Score?: We get up and leave the game while Harchester are down 2-0 (see next episode for conclusion). Soundtrack: Arctic Monkeys: "Knock The Door And Run", Jean Jacques Smoothie: "Love & Exil" Behind The Scenes: *This episode was originally intended to air separately from the next (9.27 Matchmaker) on Monday 17th April, but Sky decided to show both on the same night, in a 19:00-21:00 timeslot, due to a football match clashing with the latter episode’s planned timeslot. <<SE09 EP25 |  Season 9 Main Page | SE09 EP27>>