Ray Wyatt had been aware of Nigerian striker Monday Bandele's explosive talent since his time at Monaco. Having monitored Monday's career since then it has become clear that he has developed into a top striker. Desperate to qualify for Europe, Ray identifies the twice African player of the year Monday as the man to both bring the best out of the likes of Lucas and Fletcher and to weigh in with the goals to propel them up the table. Determined to sign the player, Ray manages to convince Lynda to scrape together the funds to make the signing possible. However, when Victoria Baptiste discovers this secret, she leaks the news to Prashant Dattani, who then goes public and attempts to steal Lynda's thunder by announcing Lynda's signing as his own. Monday, however, fails a medical, leaving the fans angry and Prash looking foolish.

Then, just prior to Christmas, Lynda and Ray plan a trip to Paris to resurrect the move. The trip doesn't quite go to plan and Ray realises that Monday's agent Wolfgang Mayer has been ripping the player off. When Lynda and Ray show up at Monday's hotel unannounced, he tells them he won't deal with them without his agent there. The pair then turn to Jeff Stein to help them out. When Monday discovers his agent's double dealings, Jeff is all too happy to step into Wolfgang's shoes and pushes through Monday's transfer to Harchester.

This wasn't to be the end of the transfer saga. When Monday arrives at Harchester for his first training session he is immediately arrested on walking into the club as he does not possess a valid work permit. His agent Jeff Stein takes him to Dublin accompanied by Jeff's daughter Tash to help get him a work permit. They discover he is not eligible for an EU work permit and Jeff tells him the only way he can obtain one is through marriage to an EU citizen. Tash seemingly finds Monday the perfect partner- a young Irish girl named Siobhan who works at the hotel they are staying at, and after some persuasion from Tash, Siobhan agrees to the marriage. The pair get married and return to Harchester as man and wife.

One person who does not welcome Monday's arrival at the club is Scott Lucas. Monday's arrival means Ray decides to play Scott in a different position for the game against Liverpool, when Scott ideally wants to play as an out and out striker. However, Scott ultimately warms to the idea and is given the captaincy. The pair play well against the Premiership's top team and celebrate an important victory. Fletch is also somewhat unsettled by Monday's arrival. He tries to negotiate his pay when Monday tells the team that he is earning more money than him. Meanwhile, Monday's fiancée arrives in town and is furious with Monday for not telling her that he is married to Siobhan. Monday spends the night with his fiancée only to find the next day that he is in the middle of a routine enquiry from immigration controls. Siobhan and Monday create a web of lies to cover up her true identity.

When Prash makes Fletch player manager, Fletch manages put all the players offside by his training sessions and makes a few enemies so Danny and Monday go to see Ray and beg him to come back. The season ends well for Monday. He and Siobhan plan their holiday together for over the summer and for the first time kiss as man and wife. He also is able to celebrate the club's qualification for the Champions League, which his goals played a large part in achieving.

In the summer, Monday arrives home from his holiday in Nigeria, where is picked up an injury during a friendly match. He discovers a letter from Siobhan saying that she has left him. Monday is genuinely upset, and he turns to Tash for support. Alan Rothman's departure paves the way for both David Spears and Monday to have a shot at the manager's position. The pair disagree on tactics for the Mallorca match. Whilst David tells the team to do things one way, Monday is arranging them another. The first half of the match is utter chaos. David pulls the team together at half-time and the team play brilliantly in the second half but not enough to win the game. Harchester have to settle for a UEFA cup place. Whilst Lynda Block tries to sort out a replacement manager for the disgraced Rothman, David and Monday both fight it out in the dressing room to become top dog. Each of the team members has an opinion on who they think should run the team. Monday, who at first was talked into having a shot for the position, is beginning to come round and like the idea. Much to David's annoyance Monday asks him to be his ‘number two'. David does not take this well as he wants the top job. Eventually with all the media pressure that surrounds the players; Monday decides that for the time being it would be best to concentrate on his playing career. David takes up the manager's position and asks Monday to be his assistant.

When the team travel to Dublin, Tash goes along with the team to get away from Jamie, who is still in Harchester after being dropped for the Shelbourne game. She confides in Monday who admits that Tash is everything he looks for in a woman. He makes it clear to her that if Jamie messes her around, Monday will welcome her into his life with open arms. After her problems with Jamie, Tash moves in with Monday. He is in love with Tash but he doesn't want to push her into anything she is uncomfortable with. The pair share a very emotional but intimate kiss, one thing leads to another and they end up spending the night together. Tash is struck with guilt over her night of passion with Monday. She desperately regrets what they did, and she knows that she loves Jamie and has no feelings for Monday other than a good friend. At a club party, Claudia is witness to a conversation between Tash and Monday about what they got up to the night before. Claudia goes and lets slip to Jamie. Jamie confronts Tash and Monday, Jamie is devastated that his wife has cheated on him.

When David resigns as manager, Lynda appoints Monday as boss, but the rest of the team are reluctant to work with him after the revelations of his affair with Tash. Tash finds out she is pregnant, but is unsure of who the father is, Jamie or Monday. Jamie overhears Tash on the phone and so knows she is pregnant, but Tash tells him that it is defiantly his baby. Jamie then goes and tell everyone at the club, when Monday finds out he goes and confronts Tash and tells her that if it is his baby, he will support her, but Tash is adamant that Jamie is the father.

When Monday and Lynda begin to look for a new player for the club, they come across Curtis Alexander, who said that he would only come to the club if he could play along side his older brother Linton. But Bandele has problems of his own, along with trying to help Fletch, he is convinced that Tash's baby belongs to him and not Jamie after their night of indiscretion! Tash is desperate to prove the baby is Jamie's but she is not 100% sure herself. Eventually Tash tells Monday that he could be correct, he could be the father, but Monday refuses to go for any tests on the grounds that Tash would terminate the pregnancy if it turned out to be his. Leaving Tash no other option but to come clean with Jamie and go for the tests. It later turned out that Jamie was the father of the baby.

Lynda Block decides that Monday needs help running the team after Harchester lose to Bolton - and turns to Sky Sports' Andy Gray. Inspired by watching the outspoken Scot's post-match analysis of Harchester's problems on TV, Lynda offers Gray a job as Director of Football. Gray watches the Dragons in training - using a non-existent Sky TV documentary about Lynda as a smokescreen - but the truth eventually comes out. Monday reacts badly initially but with an FA Cup tie against Charlton only days away he soon realises that working with Gray is best for him and for the team. Lynda is far from happy about the arrival of new manager Patrick Doyle, and his son, mercenary agent Taylor Doyle. Taylor Doyle promptly causes chaos at the training ground when a film crew he brings in as part of a promotional campaign about his dad instead catch Andrei Belanov taunting Monday Bandele until the beefy striker snaps and beats the Ukrainian up. New boss Patrick Doyle hires a sports psychologist to deal with Monday and the rest. Dr Gemma McKenzie attempts to discuss Monday Bandele's increasing moodiness over Tash's baby and the manager's job look to backfire spectacularly but the big man finally accepts he has to put it all behind him and concentrate on his football, but not before a ludicrous scene where he demands "take your clothes off!", before he breaks down. He later invites Gemma (unaware that she is Patrick's secret lover) out to dinner just after she tells Patrick she wants to break up with him.

Monday is to miss the UEFA Cup final due to an ankle injury and as the team travel to the airport, he Gemma and Tash walk away from the club. As they do so Tash goes into Labour. Monday calls Jamie on his mobile. Jamie at this point is half- way down the M1 on the team coach, and only catches half the conversation. The following season Monday returns to Harchester, but now facing a threat to his place from an old face Curtis Alexander (who stiched him up over Linton). After an early game against Chelsea in which ex- dragon Scott Lucas scores against them, new chairman Phil Wallis tells Patrick that he wants Scott back at the club. In a TV interview Scott reveals that he has missed Harchester, so Jeff Stein sets up a meeting with him. Money is tight and so Patrick and Phil decide to sell Monday, the only player that would bring 8 million to the club to make up the funds. This is a reversal of the situation when Monday first signed- now it is him feeling put out by Scott arriving. Patrick, who wants the team relegated to win his bet, puts together a plan. Ruining the potential Lucas transfer and selling pictures of Bandele in a Galatesaray shirt to the press. This leaves Harchester a striker down and with no option but to leave the club for Turkey. He does however get a small but touching send off in the players lounge, when Patrick pays tribute to him. And just before he leaves, Monday looks around the ground one last time, before handing his boots to a star- struck youth player by the name of Clyde Connelly.

Statistics

First Appearance: Episode 4.09
Final Appearance: Episode 6.03

Season 4 Character Popularity: 1.77% (11th)
Season 5 Character Popularity: 2.77% (9th)
Season 6 Character Popularity: 0.62% (13th)

Filmography

Ultimate Force (2006) TV Episode .... Dave Woolston
Holby City - Home Is Where the Hurt Is (2005) TV Episode .... Charlie Mortimer
Doctors (2004) TV Episode .... Chris Wilson / (2001) TV Episode .... Mark Santer
Trevor's World of Sport - A Man's Game (2003) TV Episode .... Leroy Stewart
Murphy's Law: Kiss and Tell (2003) (TV) .... Philip Jones
M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team - Moving Targets (2003) TV Episode .... Kevin Dunwoody
Mersey Beat - Love Hurts (2003) TV Episode .... Matt Trevvorow
Casualty - What's Love Got to Do with It (2002) TV Episode .... Dave James
Mr Charity - Children and Animals (2001) TV Episode .... Military dignitary
Trial & Retribution III (1999) (TV) .... D.C. Ross

Last updated June 2006. For more up-to-date information, please visit IMDb.