5 things to look out for in Spurs documentary including Pochettino exit fallout

Most Premier League fans have left last season behind them and are now looking forward to the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

There’s one exception, though. Tottenham Hotspur supporters will have a chance to relive last term when All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur is released on Amazon Prime on Monday.

The documentary series will cover an eventful season in the white half of north London. Spurs’ sixth-place Premier League finish doesn’t tell the full story of what was an action-packed 11 months.

Indeed, a shock managerial change and losing their star striker to injury were just two sagas which made it a season Sours fans won’t forget in a hurry.

Here are five things to look out for in the documentary…

The summer transfer window

Tottenham were under huge pressure to strengthen their squad last summer, with Mauricio Pochettino insisting reinforcements were needed if Spurs wanted to go to the next level.

Eighteen months had passed without the club making a single signing, and Pochettino knew that had to change.

The board backed him in the market, with Tanguy Ndombele arriving for a club-record fee of £54million. Spurs also signed Ryan Sessegnon, Giovani Lo Celso and Jack Clarke, but there were no buyers for Christian Eriksen.

But the most fascinating thing to observe will be the near-misses. How close did Paulo Dybala come to joining Tottenham? The Juventus forward was linked with a move to north London shortly before the window closed.

And what of Bruno Fernandes? The Portuguese has been a transformational signing for Manchester United, but Spurs were also reportedly interested 12 months ago.

Pochettino’s sacking

After five-and-a-half years with the club, Pochettino was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy in November.

It was a momentous moment for Spurs and came just months after the Argentine had led them to the Champions League final.

A poor start to the season severely dented Tottenham’s top-four hopes, though, and Levy was decisive in swapping Pochettino for Jose Mourinho.

It will be interesting to see how the dismissal is covered. Stories suggesting Pochettino wasn’t safe had been circling for some time before the official announcement.

But according to early viewers of the documentary, the manager was surprised by Levy’s decision. He didn’t see it coming.

And we also learn that Levy had been working on a succession plan for some time. He wanted to give Pochettino every chance of turning the situation around, but he couldn’t afford not to draw up an insurance plan.

“My heart was telling me don’t do it and my brain was telling me I needed to do it,” Levy says in an interview.

Mourinho’s interactions with his squad

Early reports suggest Mourinho is the star of All or Nothing. That’s hardly a surprise. For all his faults the Portuguese remains a charismatic individual, and it will be fascinating to observe him behind the scenes.

Mourinho memorably told Dele Alli that his form had been so unrecognisable that he thought it was his brother playing for Tottenham.

That motivational tactic did the trick, with Alli’s performances improving after the change in the dugout.

One takeaway from the series is that Mourinho is usually pretty blunt with his players. He tells them what he thinks and he certainly isn’t afraid of swearing.

For example, Mourinho openly labels Alli “*** lazy” in front of the squad. Serge Aurier’s defending is also questioned.

But Mourinho uses the carrot as well as the stick. He tells Harry Kane to believe in him because he can make him a “universal” star.

The Spurs boss uses different methods with different players, alternating between the arm around the shoulder and the kick up the backside.

Levy’s role at the club

Levy does very few interviews. He’s a high-profile figure due to his longevity and is renowned for his tough stance in negotiations, but we don’t often hear much from the man himself.

Pleasingly, the documentary changes that. He’s more involved in the day-to-day running of the club than some might expect. He speaks regularly with Mourinho, who even bounces ideas off the chairman on occasion.

Indeed, at one stage Mourinho tells Levy that he plans to replace Harry Winks with Eric Dier, to which his boss nods along.

Levy also hails Mourinho as one of the “best two managers in the world”, although sadly we don’t find out who the other one is.

Fans have criticised many of Levy’s decisions in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.

But All or Nothing shows that the Tottenham chairman cares deeply about the club he’s been involved with for two decades.

What are you most looking forward to seeing in the documentary? Have your say below.

Fallout from defeats

Spurs supporters will enjoy reliving the 2-1 victory over Arsenal in July, but the most juicy material will probably follow defeats.

The 3-1 loss to Sheffield United was a particular low point, and the result all but ended Tottenham’s hopes of a top-four finish.

It will be fascinating to witness the fallout from that game, so too the 2-0 home loss to Chelsea in December.

Mourinho was outdone by Frank Lampard, his former player, that day and he also suffered defeat on his return to Stamford Bridge in January.

There was also the incident between Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris during the 1-0 win against Everton, a clash which Mourinho – in public at least – reacted positively to.

Spurs lost 17 matches in 2019/20, and although not all of them will be covered in the documentary series, it will be interesting to see how the players and staff reacted to them.