All or Nothing: Manchester City

All or Nothing: Manchester City is an Amazon Original docuseries as part of the All or Nothing brand. In the series, English Premier League side Manchester City's progress was charted through their 2017–18 season, in which they won two of four contested trophies and broke a series of Premier League performance-related records.[1]

All or Nothing: Manchester City
Genre	Sports documentary
Directed by	Manuel Huerga
Starring	Sergio Agüero Mikel Arteta Brandon Ashton
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Production locations	Manchester, England
Running time	45–54 minutes
Distributor	Amazon Studios
Release
Original network	Amazon Video
Original release	17 August 2018
External links
Website

It was announced when news of the story leaked that Amazon had paid Manchester City the sum of £10m for the behind-the-scenes video access.[2]

The series was narrated by renowned actor Sir Ben Kingsley,[3] who grew up in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Featured matches	Original air date
1	1	"Great Expectations"	City 5–0 Liverpool City 5–0 Crystal Palace Chelsea 0–1 City	17 August 2018
Picking up several games into the season, the main characters in the dressing room are introduced. Pep Guardiola's management style and tactics are discussed, and the impact of new signing Benjamin Mendy's season-ending injury is mentioned. In a later match, John Stones picks up another injury. City then face an early-season test of their strength as they go to reigning champions Chelsea, with Mendy forced to watch from a hospital bed.
2	2	"Noisy Neighbours"	Napoli 2–4 City Leicester City 0–2 City Manchester United 1–2 City	17 August 2018
A series of interviews with regular Manchester City and United fans introduces the importance of the Manchester derby, and the clubs' rival bids for the 2011–12 Premier League. As the Manchester clubs build up to the first derby of the season, though, City first must navigate a tough Champions League tie against Napoli. Raheem Sterling's importance to the team is highlighted when his goals secure several crucial wins which keep a record-breaking series of wins going. Finally the clubs meet in the derby, a match only heightened by the rivalry between managers Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho.
3	3	"Winter is Coming"	Swansea City 0–4 City City 4–1 Tottenham Hotspur Crystal Palace 0–0 City City 3–1 Watford Liverpool 4–3 City	17 August 2018
With the onset of winter, the club must prepare for both the snowy conditions of Northern England as well as the impending opening of the winter transfer window. At the same time, the club must find a way to deal with the loss of talismanic player David Silva, who has had to depart for his native Spain where his son has been born very prematurely and is fighting for his life.[4] Meanwhile, City's record-breaking run of league wins is under threat as City travel to Crystal Palace and Liverpool, while injuries continue to pile up.
4	4	"War of Attrition"	City 3–1 Newcastle United Cardiff City 0–2 City City 3–0 West Bromwich Albion Burnley 1–1 City City 5–1 Leicester City Basel 0–4 City Wigan Athletic 1–0 City	17 August 2018
Having qualified from their UEFA Champions League group, City's players and staff begin to look to their first knock-out round tie. Before they can do so, however, they must first negotiate the treacherous English winter season where matches start tallying up fast, including the start of the FA Cup calendar for top-flight clubs. Mercifully, the opening of the transfer window allows the club to look for new recruits to ease the club's injury woes.
5	5	"Road to Wembley"	City (p) 0–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Leicester City 1–1 (p) City Bristol City 2–3 City City 3–0 Arsenal	17 August 2018
After following the team's travails from a chronological point of view, the documentary steps back to review City's progress through their League Cup campaign. In addition to proving a useful opportunity to blood youth players from the academy, the League Cup also gives Claudio Bravo an opportunity to salvage his reputation after a poor season in the previous year. The players' assistance in turning up at kids' sessions to encourage the next generation is also put into focus.
6	6	"The Beautiful Game"	Arsenal 0–3 City City 1–0 Chelsea City 1–2 Basel Everton 1–3 City	17 August 2018
Immediately after their League Cup triumph, and with heavy snow showers coming in, City must first face Arsenal a second time before meeting Chelsea at a point in the season when energy levels often drop and results can plummet with them. This fact, however, only serves to bring into focus the consistency of City's performance levels, as Guardiola's passing game in particular is brought into focus.
7	7	"Welcome to Hell"	Liverpool 3–0 City City 2–3 Manchester United City 1–2 Liverpool	17 August 2018
With the title an allusion to the famous banner at Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium,[5] the episode begins with footage of the violent welcome offered by Liverpool fans to the City team coach before the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final between the two which infamously resulted in the destruction of the vehicle.[6] The bus attack would go on to herald in a septum horribilis, in which City would lose three games in the space of a week to be knocked out of the Champions League and be stopped from being confirmed the title winners by losing 3-2 to rivals Manchester United at the Etihad.
8	8	"Centurions"	Tottenham Hotspur 1–3 City Manchester United 0–1 West Bromwich Albion City 5–0 Swansea City West Ham United 1–4 City City 3–1 Brighton & Hove Albion Southampton 0–1 City	17 August 2018
A week after losing to Manchester United, City's league title can still be confirmed several weeks early if the Reds have a bad result against West Brom, with Vincent Kompany notably following the match at his Mancunian wife's house with his United-supporting father-in-law. Having secured the trophy, Pep Guardiola's attention turns instead to the potential to record 100 league goals and 100 league points by the end of the season, potentially setting multiple records and recording multiple league firsts in the process.

Controversy

By unilaterally signing an agreement with Amazon to film the series, including unprecedented behind the scenes access, Manchester City reportedly greatly angered Premier League broadcaster Sky Sports, who took issue with the fact that City granted access not even offered to match broadcasters in exchange for a large sum of money.[7] Sky's response came hot on the heels of stories suggesting that they were already having to offer large discounts and deals to new customers in the wake of the competition raised by Amazon Prime and Netflix to Sky's existing online entertainment business,[8] and amidst talk that Amazon were preparing to move into match-day broadcasting also.[9]

The series' access was also raised again when it transpired that bitter rivals Manchester United refused access to the cameras to the tunnel and the dressing rooms, although the club themselves claimed this was because they felt their corridors would be too crowded with an extra camera crew present.[10] The denied request became particularly pertinent when City's victory and the ensuing celebrations led to a massed brawl between players and staff of both teams[11] which resulted in City assistant coach Mikel Arteta requiring stitches on his forehead.[12]

References

1. "Which records have Man City broken?". Premier League. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
2. "Man City sign £10m-plus deal with Amazon Prime for behind-the-scenes TV series". BBC Sport. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
3. "Manchester City stars have fun on blue carpet for 'All Or Nothing' Premiere". ESPN. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
4. "Man City player David Silva announces son has been born prematurely". Manchester Evening News. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
5. "'Welcome to Hell'". ESPN. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
6. "Attack on Man City coach before Liverpool game leaves Pep Guardiola bemused". BBC Sport. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
7. "Sky Sports execs 'unhappy' over rival Amazon Prime's £10million deal with Manchester City for 'fly-on-the-wall' TV series". The Mirror. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
8. "Sky slashes prices by more than £230 in FLASH sale - you'll have to be quick to take advantage". The Mirror. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
9. "Amazon breaks Premier League hold of Sky and BT with Prime streaming deal". The Guardian. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
10. "Manchester United block Manchester City's film crew from going into away dressing room". news.com.au. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
11. "'Marauding bare-chested' Marcos Rojo led team-mates into tunnel brawl with Manchester City's players". Metro. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
12. "Romelu Lukaku heavily involved in Manchester derby brawl as Mikel Arteta cuts head". Metro. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2018.

External links

• All or Nothing: Manchester City at IMDb