When Ted Lasso signed off season three with a perfectly crafted finale, I thought that was it. We'd captured lightning in a bottle and it was done. We could look back on it fondly. Only it turns out, the creators weren't content with just looking back on it and, prompted by people's love for the series, they forged ahead with a brand new fourth outing of ten episodes.

The focus this time was on a newly created women's football team at Richmond, with Ted Lasso coming back to coach them. It's a great concept. Women's football gives the show lots of new avenues to explore - the prejudice, the lack of structure and support, the extra pressures on female players balancing real-life responsibilities at the same time. Alongside throwing Ted in at the deep end, out of his comfort zone again, the ingredients were looking good for something fresh.

The main problem with this fourth series is that the team don't get the time they deserve. Episode 7, Yes & Baby, starts with a montage of the financial pressures some of the women are under. Boots can't afford to fix her broken Land Rover, Niamh and Siobhan are facing increasing rent issues, Shannon delivers a pizza to that guy from SNL UK and he's shocked that a footballer has a side hustle. These are all really interesting character beats... and they never get mentioned again.

We do get to see a bit more of team captain Lizzie struggling for childcare and dealing with a barely present ex, but even that is an underdeveloped plot line. New coach character Alice Chilton gets a lot more screen time but still suffers from the same thing. There's a scene with her partner before Alice was going out to a New Year party and then she's never spoken of again, despite the fact there's a building undercurrent of romance with one of the players.

Instead, we are still telling the stories of the favourite characters from the initial trilogy of series. Roy and Keeley's will-they-won't-they rumbles on for far too long when it's so obvious they will. And just when you thought it was done, bam, they start a new pregnancy thread as well. Rebecca is managing the team and dealing with external threats. I like a good crisis but counting shares for several episodes did not make for entertaining drama. And of course, Ted Lasso is still desperately looking for that work/life balance that allows him to fulfil his dream job whilst also spending time with his son. This is all fine and adorable in its own way, but that's everything we did before. It's not the new content we were promised.

One of the most annoying things for me was Coach Beard. A wonderful enigma of a character who should be chipping in from the sidelines. Instead, Coach Beard became a caricature of himself as he tried drastic measures to appear younger. Firstly, it made me dislike him. Secondly, I refuse to believe that, in a show built on people talking about their feelings, none of his so-called friends would sit him down and say: 'look dude, the contact lenses have got to go.'

It's not all doom and gloom in Richmond, though. I loved that pub owner Mae had more to do this series. She helped take care of Henry when Ted was busy, she saved the day when Rebecca needed her most, and she screamed and yelled in those terraces. Mae gave us a glimpse of why female sports are so important for representation, not just for the next generation but for everyone.

Alice, as the only female coach for a female team, was shy and uncomfortable but brave. She fought for the job in the first place, was wise enough to stay on and learn from Ted when she didn't get it, and big enough to admit what drives her own insecurities. The moment where she storms into Gemma's house and shouts at her to make sure she's quitting for the right reasons was great. No one was arguing back, Gemma just sitting in a slightly awed silence, which made Alice adorable and inspiring at the same time. Alice was the only new character that really had time to grow and develop, and that in turn helped us to love her. She was the best thing in it.

The old guard that we've come to know and love were, of course, entirely watchable, but I wanted something fresh and I didn't get it. I think the real problem is that the show needs to graduate beyond Ted Lasso but can't because his name is tied into the title. At the end of the series, his role changes slightly and maybe that will help give other characters a chance to shine. But his overpowering Kansas charm is always going to steal scenes and that might continue to be a problem if the series gets renewed for a fifth.