I love Beard, but more I think about it, the more exasperated I am with how he handled the whole Nate thing.
Because no matter what opinion you have of Nate, Beard did drop the ball on the whole Headspace incident. If you think that Nate is a flawed but ultimately struggling man who needs more support from his bosses in how to be a good coach (and particularly how to coach a player who repeatedly bullied him back in the day), Beard should have done more than just say ‘do better’ and check out. And if you think that Nate is an irredeemable little shit whose words will have irrevocably damaged an already struggling and insecure player, Beard really should have done more than just say ‘do better’ and check out. We don’t see him inquire about Colin or Nate’s state of mind after the incident, which a good coach probably should have done. And it wouldn’t have taken much in-depth thought to realise that the incident with Colin could have led to a much worse situation if left unchecked - and sadly it was left unchecked.
Similarly when Nate was wishing to get more credit, Beard and Roy essentially ignore the issue. Either way, they could have done more: if you feel that Nate’s ambitions are valid and his concerns were justifiable, Beard and Roy could have asked why he was getting so upset about credit; if you feel that Nate was being self-centred, they could have told Nate to cut it out and remember that he’s part of a team. But again, you have two grown men seeing a situation with the potential to spiral basically shrugging and going ‘enh, you should be getting this but you’re not getting this, but it’s not my job to delve into it further so I’m just going to ignore it’.
I love both Beard and Roy, and I think they’re fantastic characters and great at what they do. But I also think we see them, in many ways, being a little checked-out when it comes to matters they don’t have to worry about. We have:
Beard seeming to actively discourage Jamie from knowing how to talk to him
Roy avoiding coaching Jamie until Ted and Jamie press him to do so (it’s worth noting that while the crux of the conversation is Jamie turning average through Ted’s coaching, it’s difficult to see why this would make Roy refuse to coach him. the impression I’m left with, at least, is that coaching Jamie fuckin’ Tartt is just outside Roy’s comfort zone and he doesn’t particularly want to do it.)
neither Roy nor Beard bothering to enquire why Ted had to suddenly leave work that time to help Sharon, because ‘it’s none of our business’
Like I said, I think both Roy and Beard are fantastic at what they do do, but they don’t seem to try to push any further beyond. Which is absolutely fine, but it’s why if Ted leaves Richmond at the end of season 3 I can’t quite picture either Beard or Roy taking over the role of Head Coach (at least not without some character arcs), because a Head Coach actively needs to encourage the players under their tutelage to talk to them and confide in them. They need to go finding the problems that lurk beneath the surface and dig them up and bring them to light, and I just don’t think Beard and Roy are hungry enough to become better at that part of the job.
(Nate though...for all that his ambition has been misdirected in the past, I suspect he is hungry enough to make the effort. At least, once he gets his head straightened out at West Ham and gets a crash course in the emotional support aspect of the job. It’s why, if Ted were to leave Richmond at the end of season 3, I can actually picture a new and improved - and notably still ambitious, but directing that ambition in a more positive fashion - Nate becoming the team’s new head coach. Certainly more than I can Beard or Roy.)
