FA Cup by far. EFL Cup is typically used for younger players to get playing time, at least until the semis and final.
Yes, you can be relegated out of the Championship. Below it is “League One” and “League Two”. And below that are the “non-league” teams.
BTW, I noticed something. Earlier, someone pointed out that the name of the psychiatrist, Dr Fieldstone, might have been a reference to the psychiatrist in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Well, I noticed in this episode that the person with whom Rebecca has been corresponding (and now we know who that person is) is using the alias LDN152. In You’ve Got Mail, the alias used by Tom Hanks’ character was NY152. (Not to mention that the anonymous back and forth messaging is an updated version of the dial-up AOL email back and forth in You’ve Got Mail.)
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This is indeed considered a great feature of the pro/rel system, that far more games are considered meaningful even when teams are low in the standings. As a system, though, it kind of grew out of a simpler/more naive/less greedy time, when merit-based advancement was the foremost concern. Far more prevalent among American leagues are concerns about protecting the league owners/investors money and so pro/rel is pretty much considered a non-starter here. If anything, more and more it seems like newer sports leagues are built around/moving toward the business concerns side of things and pro/rel is to be avoided, but fanbases push back on that when they can (see the recent defunct European Super League as an example).
That was a very good episode indeed. We knew Ted would have to crack. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next. Also the confidence building with Nate showed itself as he snapped into form when needed.
I also am very glad Ted wasn’t the one on the other end of Rebecca’s bantr chat. Though Sam is going to have a very interesting time…
As for the pro/rel arguments, it’s probably better for the Game Room, but I always felt it to be a bit overrated myself. It results in very conservative football by those at the bottom fearing relegation and can result in terrible financial ruin if a team overspends to stay up (and teams folding as a result). A league without pro/rel can allow teams to throw young players into the fray with an eye to developing them (without fearing they’ll be dropped) and challenging in a few years. Famously in MLB both the Cubs and Astros did this last to champs in a few years move.
Really good episode - this one felt like season 1 to me. For some reason Beard’s line about being allergic to horses and radishes had me in stitches.
They were 4-4-14 in the Christmas episode, and this match was an FA Cup quarterfinal, which puts the date in March if the show is keeping to the real calendar. So they’re quite a bit further into the season, and the announcers mentioned that they’re on a 4-game win streak.
Also it’s interesting how things are going with Nate. He’s had two big confidence moments, and they both worked out. But he almost immediately got taken down a peg both times: turned down for a date, and the “wonder kid” thing. That could really spiral - he might think he has to go even more crazy overconfident, or get depressed thinking that even with his “fixed” confidence he still gets treated badly.
The wonderkid nickname is cool. I think that he’s going to embrace it.
Though it is a bit premature; he got lucky in one game. But I suspect he will think he’s somehow really good at coaching and this will encourage his asshole tendencies. (Which are, apparently related to his relationship with his father, and I think the show will address that at some point.)
I actually think Nate is better in coaching than most think. Remember he had a few moments in S1 that showed he knew what he was doing.
However I do think it likely it goes to his head.
I am not a soccer fan but in one first-season episode, he said that once the game is underway, he has no influence over how the team plays, unlike American football. So perhaps he can coach effectively without knowing the sport?
Well I was talking about Nate who does know the sport very well. However I think Ted somewhat misrepresents the effects managers have in the game. As shown a few times, managers can make subs or change tactics in mid game. It isn’t as much effect as American football but they definitely have an effect.
Sorry, yes, you were referring to Nate. Yes, he does know the sport (certainly better than Ted). But he’s still got issues, as shown in his interactions with his father and the new kit man.
I agree we have been given plenty of indications he knows the game tactics , he knows the players motivations and has been coaching for some of last season and all of this one so it wasn’t surprising he had a plan, its just that he managed to get confidence to speak out.
Hopefully we will have a good resolution to his punching down tendancies.
After watching this week’s episode, it appears that the Nate ego storyline is going to continue. I have to wonder if the writers are planning some sort of giant screw-up for Nate to burst his bubble; maybe AFC Richmond make it all the way to the FA Cup final, but then lose based on some decision Nate makes.
Yeah, there definitely has to be something like that coming for Nate. The way he’s bouncing between being a bully and being timid & apologetic really seems to lead to a big problem at some point. I was thinking along the lines of a screwup in a match, but after the end of this episode, I’m a bit worried something serious will happen with the kit man or something like that.
I enjoyed the episode, but it was definitely tilted towards the dramatic side over the comedy this week.
Seems to me the fears from the Xmas episode a few weeks ago that they were going Full Glurge have been dispelled by these last two installments. I previously hypothesized that the holiday show was something extra they threw together because they had the time and availability, and now it seems clear they also had to avoid any of the developing plot points they had in the hopper for this season. That’s why that one show feels like such an oddball: that’s exactly what it was.
Also, this is a very good (and very lightly spoiler-hinty about the remaining season) interview with the guy who plays Nate.
Remember that they had plotted out a ten-episode season and were then told that Apple ordered two more episodes. The Christmas episode was one of those. (I don’t think we’ve seen the other one.) So it’s, sort of, not a part of the storyline.
Makes sense. It’s interesting that they consciously chose to make it an outlier, a pure standalone that doesn’t advance the season and can be ignored in future rewatches.
Well, it did help show the growth in the characters. Higgins said he only expected one or two players to come to his house, though every year he invited the entire team (since most of them were far from their families). Instead most of the team came this year and seemed happy to be there. Partly, that’s thanks to Ted’s influence. But also, they no longer see Higgins just as a suit from the office but as a friend.