© Apple TV+Football fans will know everything about third season syndrome.
Marcelo Biesla, Brendan Rodgers and Jose Mourinho have all fallen victim to it while managing various clubs.
All of them have enjoyed two seasons of bliss at clubs like Leeds United, Leicester City and Manchester United, only to see their dream go sour.
But can it also happen to fictional soccer coaches?
© Apple TV+With Apple TV+'s 'Ted Lasso' entering its third and probably its final season, will Jason Sudeikis' much loved fictional football coach avoid the same fate?
Season Three of the Emmy winning sitcom finds AFC Richmond back in the Premier League mixing it with the big clubs.
(SPOILERS APLENTY!)
Favourites for relegation, Lasso's team witnessed in the previous season the acrimonious departure of its former kitman turned assistant coach, Nick Mohammed's Nathan Shelley who grew frustrated that Ted seemed to be getting all the credit for his tactical genius.
Nathan has now ended up at the London Stadium as the manager of West Ham, under the malign influence of AFC Richmond's former owner, Anthony Head's Rupert Mannion.
© Apple TV+Given a golden opportunity to show his tactical nous, Nathan is touted as "the Wonder Kid" as West Ham start to fly into the top four.
However he is also wracked by insecurity and guilt over the manner of his departure and how he treated Ted.
Nathan has fallen too for Edyta Butnik's Jade, a hostess at his favourite restaurant but he struggles to impress her because of his inability to easily express his feelings.
After the ending of her relationship with Toheeb Jimoh's Nigerian right winger Sam Obisanya, Hannah Waddingham's AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton is also dealing with a need for romance.
© Apple TV+Rebecca is rattled, though, when her mother, Harriet Walter's Deborah informs her that her psychic has predicted she will become a mum.
She is also desperate for Richmond to better Rupert's new club West Ham and she pulls off an unlikely coup in signing Maximilian Osinski's global superstar, Zava to the club.
A cross between Eric Cantona and Zlatan Ibrohimovic, everyone on the AFC Richmond squad is in awe of him except Phil Dunster's Mancunian Jamie Tartt.
Keen to improve as a player, Jamie turns to Brett Goldstein's fearsome former teammate turned coach, Roy Kent to help him be the best version of himself.
© Apple TV+Roy willingly takes up the challenge and trains him morning, noon and night
Having turned down a big money move to an African super team, Sam Obisanya is enjoying life in AFC Richmond.
He has opened a Nigerian restaurant but also finds it hard not to weigh in on politics on social media after inflammatory comments on immigration from a UK Government minister.
Sam discovers his ambitions for an international career are being thwarted by Sam Richardson's petty Ghanaian billionaire Edwin Akufo, who is still smarting that he rebuffed his offer to join Raja Casablanca.
© Apple TV+Edwin is trying to plot a breakaway Super League in England and invites Rupert and Rebecca, as the owners of West Ham and AFC Richmond to the discussions.
After breaking up with Roy at the end of Season Two, Juno Temple's former glamour model turned public relations guru Keeley Jones has branched into running her own agency.
However that has its own challenges, with Katy Wix's humourless CFO Barbara appearing to disapprove of the way she runs the company and a former glamour model who Keeley hires, Ambreen Razia's Shandy Fine losing a big client with her risky PR ventures.
Keeley attracts some romantic attention too from the venture capitalist who funded her company, Jodi Balfour's Jack Danvers.
© Apple TV+Billy Harris' young Welsh footballer Colin Hughes is struggling with his sexuality, trying to hide the fact that he is gay from his teammates and from fans of AFC Richmond and other clubs.
However with James Lance's former Independent football correspondent Trent Crimm given behind the scenes access to the team for the purposes of a book he is writing about the season, Colin risks being exposed.
While Brendan Hunt's Coach Beard continues to navigate a turbulent love life, Ted tries to keep everyone at AFC Richmond sane and optimistic during a season of fluctuating fortunes.
However Ted is continuing to suffer panic attacks as a result of his separation from his son, Gus Turner's Henry and is hurt to discover his ex-wife, Andrea Anders' Michelle Lasso is living back in the US with their former therapist, Mike O'Gorman's Dr Jacob.
© Apple TV+Ted's frustration at being on the other side of the Atlantic raises major questions about whether he wishes to remain as the manager of AFC Richmond beyond this season.
However there's also the matter of trying to mould his squad into viable title contenders.
For two seasons, 'Ted Lasso' has built a loyal fanbase by telling heart warming tales about a fish out of water, affable American sports coach trying to elevate a small English football club.
It has done that through crafting tightly written, witty 30 minute episodes.
© Apple TV+Season three, however, stretches the average episode's running time to 45 minutes and beyond and unfortunately that tactic backfires.
Many of the episodes feel baggy.
The humour to soap opera ratio shifts in favour of the latter and the show finds it more difficult to stretch credulity in the way it might have got away with in the past.
Sudeikis remains a strong card on the show, although Ted's melancholy blunts his folksy comedic charm and occasionally some of his homespun Kansas wisdom feels more laboured than before.
© Apple TV+You can't help feeling Sudekis has brought a lot of his own relationship woes to the character and while this is commendable, it makes for awkward mood swings.
However this isn't the only element that feels off kilter.
The dismantling of Roy Kent's hardman persona isn't as comically effective as it once was, while the story arc of Keeley just lacks fizz.
There's some odd narrative choices too, like a major character development for Nathan as the show enters the final straight that occurs off screen and is not really confronted.
© Apple TV+A joke in the last episode built around 'So Long, Farewell' from 'The Sound of Music' feels very gimmicky even for 'Ted Lasso' and really laboured.
Hannah Waddingham's Rebecca remains a real ace.
However the character with the best character development is undoubtedly Jamie Tartt, with Phil Dunster really enjoying the chance to shine as his striker learns to dial down the ego and the Mancunian swagger and become a real team player.
James Lance emerges stronger too as his character Trent really clicks with the coaching staff and players.
© Apple TV+Hunt, Jimmoh, Harris, Osinski, Butnik, Wix, Balfour, Cristo Fernandez as the Mexican forward Dani Rojas, Kola Bokkini as the captain Isaac McAdoo, Bill Fellows as former AFC Richmond manager Bill Cartrick and Jeremy Swift as the jazz loving, politely spoken Director of Football, Leslie Higgins all do their bit, while Anthony Head vamps up the pantomime villainry as Rupert.
Ellie Taylor as Rebecca's mate Sassy Collins, Ruth Bradley as the schoolteacher Mrs Bowen, Annette Badland as the pub landlord Mae Green, Kevin Gary, Adam Colborne and Bronson Webb as a trio of Richmond fans called Paul, Baz and Jeremy all provide moments of light relief, as does Matteo van der Grijn as a barge dwelling, charming Dutchman Matthijs who comes to Rebecca's rescue in an episode set in Amsterdam.
Harriet Walter, who seems to be in every hot show these days from 'Killing Eve' to 'Succession,' is on top form as Rebecca's flighty mum.
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© Apple TV+Despite cameos from Arlo White, Chris Powell, Gary Lineker, Thierry Henry, Rebecca Lowe, Jermaine Jenas, Jeff Sterling, Clinton Morrison, referee Mike Dean and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, directors Miguel Delaney, Destiny Ekaragha, Matt Lipsey, Erica Dutton and Declan Lowney still struggle to deliver convincing match sequences.
It's just a bit too much Roy of the Rovers.
By the time the third season of 'Ted Lasso' reaches its conclusion, you feel a little bit like a West Ham fan this year - satisfied with some aspects of the season but disappointed by lots of it.
© Apple TV+Sudeikis and Goldstein have in recent weeks hinted that this is probably the end of the road for the Apple TV+ show in its current incarnation and that feels about right.
Third season syndrome has unfortunately crept in.
If they do option a spin-off, though, about a post-Ted AFC Richmond, that show will need an infusion of fresh comic talent.
It'll need to pare back the length of episodes as well as finding a lead with sufficient magnetism and comic heft to give the AFC Richmond saga one hell of a revamp.
© Apple TV+Alternatively, Apple TV+ could wait a few years and find a way of getting Ted back to AFC Richmond.
Don't rule that out.
As we all know, in the crazy worlds of football and TV anything is possible.
(Episodes of Season Three of 'Ted Lasso' were made available for streaming between March 15-May 31, 2023)
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