Season 8 Episode 18 Episode 342 Sky One Transmission Date: Sunday 20th February 2005 Directed by Kate Robinson

Holly, Don, Ryan Edwards, Marquess Holly, Don Nathan Curtis

GS: Eli Knox (Shane Lynch) Nathan Woods (Ike Hamilton) Dr. Malcolm Willis (Alan Parnaby) William Marquess (Carl McCrystal) Keith Edwards (Robert Harrison) After Harchester town council give a statement on how they expect resignations at the club following the rioting, a furious Eli fires Dean and Don. Don requests Eli, who caused this by gambling away Tommy, allow them one more game as they still have automatic qualification in sight. Eli concedes and reminds them that their next game happens to be Lazio, which Dean and Don know will be an uphill task with an already weakened squad. Don realises how they can win the game, and tells the team Ryan will be included in the squad. During training Ryan appears to be on fire, until he is struck by a twinge and is taken to the physio room where Holly is forced to give him a Cortisone injection. When the club doctor questions Don on taking Ryan to Rome, Don berates Holly for going outside her area of expertise and tells her next time she’ll be out the door. Dean and Don trawl the internet for ways of getting a match awarded in their favour. They come across a game where a missile was thrown at a referee causing the match to be abandoned. Attending the 'Football in the Community' project at the local primary school, a boy asks Curtis how he feels when fans racially abuse at him during games. Don takes Dean aside and says he's found the solution: UEFA would be unable to ignore something so serious and would have to award them the game if it happened to one of their black players. Dean is vehemently against the idea, and Don says he wasn't planning on using Curtis, but Nathan, as he's desperate to get his contract. After a talk with Curtis on how sometimes you have to fight fire with fire in regards to racism, Dean tells Don he'll do their plan on one condition - that they only go through with it if they are losing. Don shows Dean CCTV footage tapes of the riot and points out a couple of men he will need to approach. Dean goes to their desolate hangout and speaks to William Marquess, informing him of the CCTV tapes and how if they do as he says they'll get free tickets to the Lazio game. Nathan is shocked that Don wants him to cheat, but Don explains Nathan will be making a worthwhile sacrifice by pushing UEFA into doing something about racism in football. Nathan agrees and Don hands him what he will be using - an Italian euro which has a pointed edge. Holly tells Don how Dr. Willis was in asking about Ryan. Don is aggressive and accuses Holly of interrogating him before telling her she's fired. Holly sneaks into Don's office and takes the file containing Ryan's X-Ray's. She goes to the airport where she explains to Curtis how Ryan is not fit to play but Barker doesn't care. The team arrive in Rome, and Curtis approaches Don about what Holly told him. Don tells Curtis he sacked Holly after he caught her going through a player's wallet, and she threatened she'd make him pay. Nathan tells Don he can't go through with it as there'll be so many people watching and shows how his hands are shaking. Dean tells Don to let it go and lets it slip to Curtis if they lose tomorrow he and Don will be sacked. Curtis realises what's going on with Ryan and takes him to the hospital to get checked out. Barker arrives and Ryan asks him why he risked his career before telling Don he can’t play. Don blames Dean for the whole thing and says this will be the last night he spends as a Chief Executive. At the game, Don lets a vomiting Nathan know that he's letting him go unless he plays the game. He tells Nathan to use the coin as soon as the first goal goes in. Harchester kick off against Lazio and the rioters are in place with the racist chanting. Lazio score and Don beckons at Nathan to use the coin. He eventually does and falls to the ground clutching his forehead. At the same time Curtis equalises for Harchester putting them in the clear. However, the game is abandoned by the referee following Nathan's injury and flares being thrown onto the pitch. Dean is horrified that they have cheated in the worst possible way when they did not have to. Notes: Last appearance of Holly Jones (Lamorna Watts) Continuity: Curtis mentions his mom (who we will see next season). Curtis asks Ryan to remember what his dad went through and what he might be about to throw away if he played the Lazio game. Additional Info: The cost for repair following the riots is estimated at over £2M. Curtis says he was ten when he first signed for a team after being given a trial. Most of the HCRC were arrested following the riot. Logic: I suspect most viewers would have accepted Holly Jones had left the club after her disappearance from the series as far back as 8.8 Blame, so her return here just to be off again after being fired seemed unnecessary. Also Holly’s comment to Don of how she didn't know of Ryan’s hospital visit as she was in Studs (i.e. the pub) all afternoon was a strange admission. What Was The Score?: Harchester suffered a 2-0 defeat to Southampton in their 5th Round FA Cup game. Lazio match is abandoned at 1-1. Soundtrack: Craig Armstrong: "Inhaler", Deadly Avenger: "Outro", The Hives: "Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones", The Zutons: "Don't Ever Think” <<SE08 EP17 | Season 8 Main Page | SE08 EP19>>