Inverting the Pyramid of Success
The news about Ted's panic attack quickly becomes a top story. Everyone at Richmond expresses their support for Ted. Ted does his best to take the fallout in stride, discouraging his friends from trying to identify the anonymous source and directing their attention towards the final match of the season against Brentford. However, Beard reveals to Ted that he's deduced that Nate was the anonymous source for the article. Ted says that he plans to let Nate apologize to him on his own terms. Beard expresses doubt that Nate will do such a thing and says that he thinks confronting Nate would be good for Ted.
Roy goes to confront Jamie about him telling Keeley he still loved her, but before Roy can say anything, Jamie admits the truth on his own and apologizes to Roy, who reluctantly forgives him. Meanwhile, Keeley receives an offer to open her own PR firm backed by the venture capital firm behind Bantr, and Sam is still struggling with the decision of whether to stay at Richmond or accept Edwin Akufo's offer to play for Raja Casablanca. Looking for a sign, Sam walks through a park and sees a football game being played by a group of teenagers in Richmond jerseys, some with the Dubai Air logo taped over in support of Sam's protest. The next day, Keeley tells Rebecca about her new job offer and thanks her for the opportunities Rebecca has given her. Their emotional moment is interrupted by the breaking news that Rupert has just bought West Ham United.
During the final match, Richmond struggles to pull off Nate's false nine formation, and Brentford is up 2-0 by halftime. Nate argues that they should abandon the strategy, blaming the players for not executing it correctly, but Ted and the team decide to stick with it. As the players head back out for the second half, Ted notices Nate hanging back in the office looking upset. Ted asks Nate if he's okay; Nate admits that he is angry at Ted for what he perceives as Ted abandoning him after his promotion to assistant coach. He further accuses Ted of planning to blame the team's failure on him and says that he is a more worthy and talented coach than Ted is. Ted tries to apologize, but Nate refuses to listen and storms out of the office in tears. Sam scores in the second half of the match, leaving the team only one goal away from being promoted back to the Premier League. In the game's final seconds, Jamie is fouled and earns the team a free kick. Jamie elects to let Dani take the shot, his first since the disastrous kick that killed Earl Greyhound. Dani successfully makes the goal, securing Richmond's promotion.
As the team celebrates in the locker room, Ted finds the "Believe" sign torn in half and left on his desk, and notices that Nate is nowhere to be found. Sam decides to stay with Richmond, although he makes it clear to Rebecca that it is not because of his feelings for her. Rather than talking about the game during the post-match press conference, Ted decides to tell the press the truth about his mental health, saying that he is concerned by the way the world of athletics currently deals with the topic. Afterward, Ted heads out to the parking lot, where Trent Crimm is waiting for him. Trent tells Ted that he has been fired from his position at The Independent after telling his bosses that he revealed the identity of an anonymous source. He says that he is looking for something more meaningful than sports journalism and wishes Ted good luck next season. The two mutually express the hope that their paths will cross again.
Five days later, Keeley is moving her things out of her Richmond office. Roy surprises her with two tickets for a six-week vacation in Marbella. Keeley regretfully says she's too busy with her new job to go with him. Roy worries that they're breaking up, but Keeley assures him that they're not and encourages him to go on the vacation by himself.
Three weeks later, Sam buys an empty storefront that he plans to turn into a Nigerian restaurant.
Two months later, we see West Ham United running through a training drill, supervised by a coach who has his back to the camera. Rupert walks past and whispers something to the coach, who turns around and reveals himself to be Nate.
Tropes featured in "Inverting the Pyramid of Success" include:
- All Take and No Give: Nate wanted all of the credit for the 'false nine' tactic after he suggested it before the match. But when it looks like the idea is not working when Richmond are 2-0 down at half time, he suddenly refuses to take responsibility for the idea and gets angry when Ted refers to it as "Nate's false nine".
- Artistic Licence – Sports: AFC Richmond is depicted as needing to tie their final game to gain second place in the Championship and secure promotion back to the Premier League, with the show acting as if it's their last chance to do so. In reality, this is their last chance for automatic promotion to the Premier League, which is guaranteed to the two top performing teams. The teams placing 3rd through 6th can still win the last promotion slot through the play-offs. The shows opts for a Down to the Last Play promotion instead, probably due to being narratively satisfying.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Edwin turns out to be one. When Sam ultimately declines his offer, he throws a temper tantrum that includes insulting Sam's Nigerian heritage, threatening his home and family, and making a mess of Richmond's stadium as he exits.
- Bittersweet Ending: In this finale, Richmond gets promoted back into the Premier League, Sam decides to stay with the club and bring some more Nigerian culture to the area by opening a restaurant, Jamie and Roy have found peace, Keeley gets to work on her new PR firm, and Ted is more at ease with his mental health and open about discussing it. However, Roy and Keeley still are on uncertain footing in their relationship as Roy worries that Keeley's rising success will result in him getting left behind. Lastly, Rupert buys West Ham United and hires Nate, who has completely deluded himself into thinking Ted mistreated him, as the club's new manager.
- Book Ends: A couple.
- The first match we saw in season 2 saw Dani mess up a penalty kick and kill the team's greyhound mascot. The final match of the season ends with Dani once again attempting a penalty kick with a greyhound mascot in attendance. The recurrence is lampshaded by the commentators. This time, he succeeds, and the dog survives.
- The opening and closing shots of the season are close ups on Nate's face.
- By "No", I Mean "Yes": Would Roy like to become a Diamond Dog? Fuck no, he'd just... not be upset about being in the room while it happens.
- Call-Back: The episode is full of them.
- Ted opens this episode by pouring a single giant shredded wheat into a bowl and preparing to pour milk over it.
- Sam notices some kids playing football in Richmond shirts with his name and number. One of those shirts is an old one which has the Dubai Air logo covered with black tape.
- Dani takes a penalty kick in a scene shot exactly like the opening of the first episode of the season where he killed Earl with a penalty kick. The commentators mention that it's the first time Dani's taken a penalty kick since that incident, and the close-up on Dani's also shows that he has "RIP Earl" written on one of his shoes. Prior to the match, Higgins is seen hosting auditions for Earl's replacement from Barkingham Palace, the dog shelter mentioned in that episode.
- This also calls back to Dani's and Jamie's first interaction, doing trick shots, which Dani won.
- Keeley tells Rebecca that she turned Keeley from "a panda into a lion".
- The first season's last shot is Rebecca's stunned face after Ted accidentally spat water in it. The second season's last shot is Nate's smug face after he metaphorically spat in Ted's.
- Call-Forward: Beard tells Ted that if he keeps "holding all this in, I'm afraid your mustache is gonna pop off". In the non-canonical animated Christmas short "The Missing Christmas Mustache", Ted's mustache does disappear from his face.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: Jan Maas is the one to stand up and defend the false nine; everyone notes that if Jan says it, it must be true.
- Can't Spit It Out: Roy has trouble asking the Diamond Dogs for advice and fights for every word.
- Character Development: Roy recognizes that with the Diamond Dogs "sometimes it's just chatting about shit and nothing gets solved and nothing fucking changes? ... That's cool." Ted and Beard silently lose their shit about Roy's growth.
- Comically Missing the Point: It takes Higgins four tries to get it right in advising Keeley about the possibility of taking a new job.
- Crazy-Prepared: Played With. The club gives their new greyhound mascot a symbolic protective helmet. Though it wouldn't provide too much protection from a football at full speed, the gesture is clear.
- Down to the Last Play: With Richmond one goal away from tying the match against Brentford and scoring the last point they need to get promoted back to the Premier League, Dani has to take a penalty in the last seconds of the match... and scores.
- Dramatic Irony: Nate cites Ted not displaying the Christmas gift Nate gave him in his office as an example of him not caring about Nate. Ted (and the viewers) know that Ted didn't put it there because he put it in an even more important place: the mantlepiece in his home.
- Evil Costume Switch: Nate comes to the last match of the season in the all-black suit Keeley picked out for him, symbolizing the completion of his Face–Heel Turn.
- Excellent Judge of Character: Coach Beard tells Ted that Nate's not going to confess or apologize for what he did. He winds up being right.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Nate's final Face–Heel Turn comes coupled with his hair going fully grey.
- Failed a Spot Check: Apparently Jamie was the only member of the playing and coaching staff to realise that Edwin's helicopter was still parked in the middle of the training pitch.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: If it wasn't obvious enough that Nate got the West Ham job, then seeing Rupert whisper into his ear like he did in "No Weddings and a Funeral" should tip you off.
- Foreshadowing:
- The episode opens with Jeff Stelling making a passing mention of "rumours of change" at West Ham, before moving on to Ted's panic attack. Midway through the episode, the rumours turn out to be true.
- Roy doesn't quite get Keeley's new job; he has some trouble with the way her life is going to change. Next season, they'll have broken up because he's insecure about her job. His last shot is him scowling at her jaguar statue.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Trent Crimm's article can only be seen for a few shots (and even then, not in its entirety), but viewers who pause it at the right time can see it is overwhelmingly sympathetic and only discusses Ted in general terms before moving on to the subject of poor support for mental health in professional sports.
- Friendship Moment:
- Rebecca and Doc Sharon message Ted first thing in the morning after Trent's article goes public; then so does his ex-wife, Michelle. Over the course of the day, everyone gives Ted their love and support, from Mae to the random Richmond fans in the street.
- Jaime gives the penalty kick to Dani, who hasn't kicked a penalty since he accidentally killed Earl, telling him "You got this, muchacho."Dani: Futbol is life.
- Funny Background Event: While Akufo is summoning Sam to the treatment room, his assistant Francis can be seen practicing his handshake with a skeleton.
- Give Me a Sign: Sam's father tells him to look out for a sign to tell how to decide about his career. Sam then glances over at the park and sees a football game being played by a group of teenagers in Richmond jerseys, some with the Dubai Air logo taped over in support of Sam's protest.
- I Kiss Your Hand: In a rare lesbian example, the greyhound breeder greets Keeley this way, stating she is a "huge fan" of hers. Keeley is quite flattered when she catches on.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: After Sam's deeply personal confession about why he chose to stay at Richmond, Rebecca downs a full glass of champagne.Ted: I think he was talking about you while he was looking at me.
Rebecca: Yes. Thank you, Ted. [[chugs the whole glass]]
Ted: Oh, hell. You crushed that. - I Take Offense to That Last One: After Akufo insults his nationality and ethnicity, it's being called "medium talent" that Sam objects to.
- It's All About Me:
- Nate's excuse for lashing out at Ted and the team throughout the season turns out to be that he felt Ted had been ignoring him, despite Ted having clearly been dealing with significant issues both personally and due to the team's poor performance.
- He also lashes out at Ted for not displaying the photo he gave him in his office. Ted has it next to his bed at home, clearly valuing it and his relationship with Nate far more than the latter realizes.
- In a notable inversion which shows how far he has come, Jamie hands over the responsibility for taking the penalty to Dani, even though taking it himself would have earned him redemption for dooming Richmond to relegation in the previous season.
- Nate's excuse for lashing out at Ted and the team throughout the season turns out to be that he felt Ted had been ignoring him, despite Ted having clearly been dealing with significant issues both personally and due to the team's poor performance.
- Jerkass: Of the three sports commenters, Cartrick goes full asshole saying Ted's not fit to coach while the other two beg him to be compassionate toward a man suffering from mental health issues.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Nate is in full Never My Fault mode, and a bit too rude while saying so, he is correct during halftime when he says that the reason the false nine tactic isn't working is because the players aren't executing it correctly. When Ted asks the players for their opinion of the strategy, Jan Maas agrees that the strategy is solid and they just need to do a better job of executing it.
- Kick the Dog: While everyone celebrates Richmond's promotion on the pitch, Nate walks into the locker room by himself and destroys the "Believe" sign.
- "Knock Knock" Joke: Ted in his chat with his ex-wife.Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Europe.
Europe who?
Europe late. - Lame Pun Reaction: After learning that Trent has been fired, Ted jokes that now he can introduce himself as "Trent Crimm, independent". Trent tells him that his father has already made that same joke.
- Man Hug: Roy and Jamie hug it out after Richmond wins, though not before Roy headbutts Jamie.
- Manly Tears: Nate cries when Ted finally confronts him about how upset he is. Yeah, Nate's an asshole, but he's in real pain.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Subverted. Nate claims this is the reason for his recent behavior, but the examples he gives are mostly a combination of Self-Serving Memory and Ted being Innocently Insensitive. When Ted apologizes for making Nate feel bad and Nate doesn't accept it, it's clear Nate is just trying to justify his behavior rather than having been genuinely wronged.
- Not Good with Rejection: Akufo apparently has no experience whatsoever with not getting what he wants, as Sam's polite rejection makes him throw a huge tantrum.
- Obvious Judas: In-Universe. When Ted asks Beard how he found out Nate was the anonymous source, Beard only answers with a Meaningful Look.
- Oh, Crap!: Nate briefly realizes that betraying the beloved coach of a bunch of testosterone-poisoned footballers is dangerous; they want to hunt down the traitor and exact a physical form of vengeance that, as well-fit athletic men, they can absolutely mete out with socks with soap in.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: As Ted and Rebecca are in her office, Sam walks in and tells Ted that his decision to stay in Richmond was not because of his (Sam's) feelings for Ted, but that it's for his own personal journey. After Sam leaves, both Ted and Rebecca agree that Sam was talking to Rebecca through Ted.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Beard is uncharacteristically brusque with Nate (not simply laconic, but curt) and asks him about the paper in a tone that makes it clear he knows it was Nate who sold Ted out.
- Politically Incorrect Villain:
- Nate's rant to Ted ends with him making a few derogatory remarks about Ted being American, including calling the subjects of his pictures (which includes Muhammad Ali) dumb.
- Akufo's Not Good with Rejection moment includes some nasty remarks about Sam's Yoruba heritage.
- Poor Communication Kills: Ted refuses to confront Nate about violating his trust, hoping that Nate will just apologize on his own. When he finally does confront Nate, Ted is completely apologetic about Nate's misplaced feelings of resentment, despite having ample opportunity to call out Nate on his bullshit. Thanks to this, he unintentionally validates Nate and sends him on his Start of Darkness.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Dani turns his Catchphrase into one before he buries the penalty kick that sends Richmond back to the Premier League.
- Precious Puppies: Higgins welcomes several adorable greyhound puppies into his office as part of his search for a new club mascot. They shit all over the carpet, resulting in him having to work in a room that is not his office. Again.
- Psychological Projection: Parts of Nate's rant are clearly about the resentment he feels towards his father that he's projecting onto Ted because he considers him an easier target.
- The Reveal: Turns out Rupert giving Rebecca Bex's shares of AFC Richmond wasn't for altruistic reasons. He was planning on buying West Ham United and needed to get rid of the shares so he wouldn't be in violation of the Premier League's rules that prohibit owning multiple clubs.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- Nate is shown taking a long look at a poster depicting John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. Wooden developed it as a way for people, particularly the players he coached, to visualize the steps towards becoming a better person. Instead of taking the concept to heart, Nate ignores every concept outlined in the pyramid except the "Competitive Greatness" bit at the top, and proceeds to advance his own agenda while selling out his team and friends. At the same time, Beard can be seen reading Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson (a book about the history of football tactics), showing the disconnect between Nate and everyone else, and providing the other part of a subtle but very well-executed non-verbal Title Drop.
- When Isaac reaches out to touch the 'BELIEVE' sign above the locker door and looks back at the team, the shot frames his body separating Nate from Ted and Roy.
- Rule of Three: Higgins fails to understand Keeley's nervousness three times. Then he gives her perfect advice.
- Self-Serving Memory: Nate's rant to Ted contains a few of these:
- He claims that Ted abandoned him after all the attention he gave him the previous season, when he knows that Ted has been busy dealing with his own mental health issues and had no idea how Nate was feeling because Nate never reached out to him. Nate also refused every opportunity to bring this up through the Diamond Dogs, despite the club having been formed partly for his benefit.
- He says that Ted wouldn't have won a single match without any of Nate's ideas. Ted actually won his first match with his own ideas — he took Jamie off, and had the team implement the 'extra passes' tactic he'd had them practice. It was also made clear earlier this season that even with Nate as a full-time assistant coach, Richmond was struggling to win matches in the Championship until Roy came on.
- Nate claims his success didn't just fall into his lap, he "earned" it. In reality, he'd still be stuck as a kit man if anyone other than Ted had been hired for the Richmond manager job, as Ted was the one who took an interest in Nate's tactical ideas, insisted that Nate read his motivational notes to the team, and promoted Nate to assistant coach.
- He also claims that Ted only ever gave Nate credit for failures and claimed Nate's successes as his own. Everyone was always happy to give Nate credit, in the moment and afterward, going all the way back to when he first suggested using Jamie as a decoy long before he was officially a coach.
- Shout-Out: Roy headbutting Jamie before embracing him in a Man Hug after Richmond earns its promotion back to the Premier League is similar to how Roger Dorn acts to Rick Vaughn at the end of Major League.
- Smarter Than You Look: Ted displays a razor-sharp wit in the opening when his ex-wife texts him while he's sitting at breakfast to say she saw the news and ask if he's okay. He replies with a knock-knock joke on the spot. (Europe late.) A nice double-pun (he's in Europe, it's 1 or 2 AM for her). He then asks if she's up early or late, then realizes it's not his place to ask that any more and withdraws the question before she can reply.
- Smug Snake: Nate outs himself as this to everyone, shitting on Ted, quitting the team, and joining asshole Rupert's new team.
- So Proud of You: Rebecca tells this to Keeley when she reveals she's setting up her own PR firm.
- This Is Unforgivable!: The players are so outraged that someone within the club decided to leak Ted's panic attacks to the press that they want to dish out some physical punishment.
- Tranquil Fury: Coach Beard immediately figures out Nate was the rat and, since he can't get violent with him because Ted doesn't want it, he defaults to this mode with him.
- Undying Loyalty: After Ted talks with the team about the article, the players make it clear they all support him and promise they will find out who talked to the press and deal with them themselves. Rebecca, Keeley, and Higgins also tell Ted that he has their full support. Hell, even Trent Crimm, independent, makes that clear.
- Wham Shot: The episode, and the season, ends at West Ham United's training ground, with Rupert whispering something to the team's new coach, who then turns around to face the camera, revealing himself to be Nate.
- Worst News Judgment Ever: The local press treats the reveal of Ted's panic attack as the most important story ever. In contrast, the article that Trent Crimm breaks the story with is quite sympathetic and focuses on the broader topic of mental health in professional sports. It's implied that disillusionment over the media circus is what caused Crimm to willingly confess to outing his source and get himself fired.
