Maybe We Should Admit Ted Lasso Is a Bad Coach?

By Genevieve Burgess | TV | April 14, 2023 |

By Genevieve Burgess | TV | April 14, 2023 |

Listen, I know that the world can be bleak, and watching a show about people being generally kind and well-meaning is a nice escape. Ted Lasso as a show is charming, affirming, and has an excellent message about being in touch with one’s feelings and expressing them appropriately. But I think it’s time to admit that Ted Lasso, the character on that show, is a shitty football/soccer coach, and Higgins was eminently practical when he told Rebecca they needed to think about replacing him.

I am not a Premiere League football fan personally, but I am married to one, and at this point, I’m convinced that I have more knowledge of the European League structure, the top players, and basic team management than the character who has been getting paid to manage a Premiere League team for two full seasons of TV now. For example, while Zava is a fictional character in the Ted Lasso universe, Ted didn’t even know the team he played for, Juventus, which has been around since 1897 and plays in the Champions League. Also, shouldn’t Ted have been aware of one of the most popular players of the sport he’s coaching even if he played in a different (but also overlapping) league?

Ted also bungled the name of the Wolverhampton Wolves, a team that IS in his league and that Richmond would have certainly played against before, he only knows any soccer strategy after several years thanks to playing FIFA with his son over the summer, and does not do any scouting of players or coaching staff! His method of hiring new coaches seems to boil down to “who is nearby and seems willing to do the job?,” which worked out really well with Nathan (for a while), but they’re still down a coach with no apparent moves to replace him. Roy is trying, but his strength lies in coaching specific players, not overall team strategy. Speaking of strategy, Ted also appears to have no coaching strategy, at least not one that he’s sharing with Roy or Beard, leading to them making decisions on their own at the West Ham game out of desperation. Yeah, he can bust out a great inspirational speech about believing in his team as long as they believe in themselves, but without some actual tools or direction, that’s not going to win any games.

I realize that one of the points of this season is that Ted is deciding what he’s still doing in London at this point, but frankly, the decision shouldn’t be his anymore. He was able to coast by on a rough “leader of men” blueprint for a while, but it should be clear now that Richmond needs a real manager. Zava’s gone, the team has been on a losing streak, and now would be the smart time to bring in a new coach. But of course, that’s not what this show is about.