Eli Knox (Shane Lynch) 2004-2005 Duration: 325 (8.1), 327 (8.3), 332 (8.8) - 334 (8.10), 340 (8.16) - 342 (8.18), 344 (8.20), 346 (8.22), 348 (8.24) - 349 (8.25), 351 (8.27), 353 (8.29) - 354 (8.30) A 30-odd Dublin businessman, Eli Knox made his money in the dot-com boom, establishing himself as an online casino magnate with the cornerstone of his empire, luck-be-a-lady.com. An entrepreneur at heart, always accompanied by an all-female workforce known only as the Pink Ladies (who may have been skilled in martial arts!), Eli was on the lookout for a project, and owning a football club was an attractive prospect. Eli could have had his pick of the top clubs, but wanted one that came with a challenge. Where better than Harchester United, who at the time they caught his eye, were refusing to die from an enforced liquidation by their bank. Harchester qualified for the Champions League, but their immediate relegation to the Championship threw a spanner into the works. There was only one way to decide - the toss of a coin. And Heads he bought. Installing tough and experienced ex-Wigan boss Don Barker in the managerial role, and leaving the boardroom dilemmas to admirable chief exec Dean Boyle, Eli was very much a part-time chairman, phoning in his orders and views often from his yacht in Monte Carlo but trouble often brought him back. With the transfer window set to close, and Harchester's Premiership talent looking for a mass exodus from the Championship, Knox gives Dean the ultimatum that he must stop some of his friends’ most wanted moves. He employs Emma Casey as a spy to keep the pressure on Dean, but when Dean's conscience gets the better of him, Eli sways him with a new motor in the Aston Martin DV7 and the promise of the same CL bonus as the players. Eli gets his way, but he isn't around when Dean has to face the wrath of his now former friends. When Clyde Connelly takes his own life at the club, Eli knows he must be seen to take tough action, deciding that Barker must be the fall guy but Dean is saved by another of Eli's Heads or Tails coin flips. When Don rescues the club's reputation with a concocted story of Clyde's suicide being down to a lost love, Eli is impressed and carries on with Don. As Christmas approaches, Dean is looking to bring a big name to lift Harchester and its fans hopes, and when Eli OK's first Carlos Valdez, then Gabriel Batistuta, he is shocked when the announcement of his big new signing amounts to old news Karl Fletcher with his best days behind him. Always up for a duel, Eli seemingly has at last met his match in Viv Wright, and takes exception to the first team goalie's claim that the season can be predicted. Going head-to-head in a game of Blackjack, Eli invites Nicolai the owner of Spartak Moscow, and to show Viv he is wrong, makes a bet with Nicolai that if he wins he can take any Harchester player he wants. When Nicolai turns over an Ace, Eli's recklessness has cost Harchester Tommy Valentine without any replacement incoming. There are further ramifications for this, when a group of rebel fans, aided by Don, attempt to force Eli's hand in providing a new player. After the weakened Harchester side lose in the 5th Round of the FA Cup, the fans riot and Eli again is about to fire Dean and Don, but being reminded how much to blame he himself is for this, gives them one more game to save their jobs - the daunting task of Lazio Away. After Don's plot of faked racism gets the game called off, Dean getting badly beaten and Don himself suffering an angina attack, the game is won fair and square and the two see another day. Dean and Fletch believe surely Barker will be out the door when he is caught on camera propositioning Nicole Caskey, wife of new signing Carl, but to their shock Eli sides with Don, backing him still as the man to take them into the Premier League. Dean is so disillusioned he resigns, which means Eli must now take an active role in the day-to-day running of his club without his loyal employee, and find a new manager when the team get wind of Barker's actions and force him out. With some strong contenders in Karl Fletcher and Curtis Alexander, Eli makes another surprise gamble - his old adversary Viv Wright is appointed his new manager. With his intense way of putting a plan and those around him into action, Eli's faith in Viv is proven right, and he takes the team to promotion through the Play Offs. Following the game, Don is found out for causing the death of Fletch, and determined to avoid prison, drives his petrol-laden car head-on into the Harchester team coach, the ensuing explosion killing the Harchester first team. Eli loses all interest in owning Harchester and sells to an unknown new owner... but who?