5 unmissable moments from Tottenham documentary series All or Nothing

The first three episodes of Amazon Prime Video’s All or Nothing documentary series on Tottenham air on Monday night.

Here, the PA news agency picks out some things to look out for.

Mauricio Pochettino’s swift goodbye

One of the biggest stories of the 2019/20 season was the dismissal of Mauricio Pochettino and that comes just over 20 minutes into the first episode. In truth, it is not the popcorn-grabbing drama you might have been hoping for as, understandably, none of the sensitive or confidential issues make the cut. The aftermath is covered, though, with cleaners shown turning around Pochettino’s office for a swift new arrival and clearing out boxes, while a conversation between Harry Kane and Jan Vertonghen makes fascinating viewing. Kane reveals that he spoke to his former manager on the phone the previous evening, with Vertonghen asking if Pochettino knew what was coming. The England captain replied: “No. The chairman came in and said ‘can I talk? You’re being sacked, you need to pack your things, you leave tonight’.” Chairman Daniel Levy also speaks about the decision, admitting to lots of “heartache”, but that he had to follow his brain.

Jose Mourinho’s candid team-talks

The most enjoyable part of fly-on-the-wall documentaries are always the team meetings and dressing room team-talks and this is no different. Jose Mourinho says in one of the early episodes that he delivers “feedback without filter” and that is certainly apparent in the series. In one of his first team meetings he calls out Dele Alli for being a poor trainer, calling him a “f*****g lazy guy” and then tells defender Serge Aurier that “I am afraid of you” when the right-back defends. His most memorable, and expletive-laden speech, is in a meeting with his whole squad when he tells them they are too nice. He said: “For 90 minutes you cannot be nice, for 90 minutes you have to be a bunch of c***s, but intelligent c***s, not stupid c***s. B******s in the sense that you are there to win matches man.”

Mourinho and Levy’s chats

Mourinho has spoken openly in the press that he regularly speaks to chairman Levy and we get to see just how much. Conversations between the pair – both in Mourinho’s office and the canteen at the training ground – feature heavily in the opening three episodes as they discuss footballing matters at the club. The Portuguese does not waste time in telling his chairman about Alli’s attitude in training and then has to indulge Levy waxing lyrical about Son Heung-min’s wonder goal against Burnley. There are also two other, very eye-opening discussions regarding Christian Eriksen and his future, with Levy telling Mourinho that the Dane’s agent had shut down dialogue with the club over a new contract and then asking his manager to try one more time to convince the player to stay.

Dele Alli in the crosshairs

The main line from Mourinho’s first press conference as Spurs manager was a rallying call to Alli, where he revealed that he asked the Spurs attacker whether he was “Dele or Dele’s brother” in relation to his recent poor form. While that is not shown on the documentary there is plenty of access to the other conversations they had. As mentioned, Mourinho had no problem highlighting Alli’s poor training methods, something the player laughed about, but he was not smiling when he was pulled into Mourinho’s office for a meeting where the boss laid it out in simple terms to Alli regarding his inconsistent form. He said: “Why you have in your career these ups and downs, I don’t know. I don’t know if it is to do with your lifestyle, in one period you are an amazing professional and in another period you become a party boy.” Alli’s reaction made for awkward viewing as it was clear he did not take Mourinho’s words well.

Harry Kane taking centre stage

Just as he is on the pitch for Tottenham, Kane is at the forefront of the documentary and there is great insight into what happens when a top manager meets a top player for the first time as Mourinho is shown asking his striker for a private meeting not long after his appointment. Mourinho addresses Kane’s relationship with Pochettino before going on to say that he is the one who can make him into a global superstar. It was a two-way street, though, as Mourinho also confessed that he needs Kane to help him win trophies at Spurs. Mourinho was seen calling Kane a “silent leader” but just how vocal the England captain is behind the scenes comes across. While filling in as captain for Hugo Lloris, he is shown delivering dressing room rallying calls and also speaks up in the wake of the defeat at Manchester United. Kane said players shirking responsibility happens too often and is “unacceptable”.