Nicky Butt Critiques Tuchel and England's Third-Place Play-Off
Nicky Butt has never been one to sugar-coat an opinion. This week, he aimed both barrels at England boss Thomas Tuchel and fired a warning shot on behalf of Kobbie Mainoo.
The former Manchester United midfielder believes Mainoo should refuse to play in England’s World Cup third-place play-off against France on Saturday – and says Tuchel should be sacked after the semi-final defeat to Argentina.
‘I’d just refuse to play’
Mainoo forced his way into Tuchel’s final World Cup squad on the back of a superb second half of the season at Old Trafford, thriving after Michael Carrick stepped in as interim manager. The 21-year-old arrived at the tournament as one of the form midfielders in the Premier League.
He has not kicked a ball.
Seven games, seven times on the bench. England’s run ended in heartbreak against Argentina on Wednesday night, and only now is Tuchel expected to turn to Mainoo, with the youngster tipped to start against France in the third-place match (10pm BST).
Butt thinks that is an insult, not an opportunity.
“I do not know what is going on there, there’s something not quite right with it,” he said. “Now they’re going to play the bomb squad in the stupid third-place game.
“I’d just refuse to play if I was Kobbie Mainoo. I’d say I was injured. It’s a nonsense game, especially when you’ve been treated like that.
“He’s not played a minute of football, now to go and start this pointless jumped-up friendly and potentially get injured for the whole season… no.”
In Butt’s eyes, this is not about a consolation medal. It is about principle, respect and the risk of a key season being wrecked in a match he dismisses outright.
‘Not a cat in hell’s chance’ Tuchel survives
Butt’s frustration runs far deeper than Mainoo’s lack of minutes. For him, the semi-final defeat to Argentina should spell the end of Tuchel’s England tenure.
“There’s no way he [Tuchel] can stay on. Not a cat in hell’s chance after that,” Butt said.
“If he stays on, John McDermott [the FA’s technical director] needs to be sacked as well.
“There’s no way you can keep him now. He’s not a Sir Bobby Robson or Kevin Keegan, someone that the nation loves.
“You’re talking about a manager that’s come in and played negative football, crazy negative football, in the semi-final against a beatable Argentina team.”
The criticism is not just tactical. Butt is acutely aware of how Tuchel’s nationality will colour the debate around him.
“And it shouldn’t really matter, but people will go against him because he’s German as well, so he’s going to have a nightmare.
“He’s an unbelievable club manager, so just let him go. He won’t want to stay. He might say he does, but deep down he’ll be thinking, ‘pay up, I’m out of here’.”
Tuchel arrived with a reputation for high-level club success and a clear tactical identity. Butt’s verdict is that the international stage has twisted that into something unrecognisable – and unacceptable.
Howe, Pochettino… and the Guardiola dream
If Butt is adamant Tuchel must go, he is equally clear there are better options waiting in the wings.
“If we were nine months down the line, I’d definitely be going for Pep Guardiola. But Pep can’t leave Man City a month ago, saying he needs a rest from football, and then go straight back in. He can’t do that.”
With Guardiola off the table, Butt turns to two names he believes fit the England job.
“Eddie Howe would be brilliant. I’d love him to go in, it’d be great.
“Mauricio Pochettino’s got an unbelievable relationship with John McDermott. When McDermott was the academy manager at Tottenham, Pochettino was the manager, and they had a really, really good relationship.”
Butt has seen that dynamic up close.
“I was in and around it with the Manchester United academy, we would do training camps there so I’ve seen it first hand.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened and I wouldn’t be against it at all. He’s a very, very good manager. A likeable person, plays good football everywhere he goes.”
The sting in the tail? Even that, he warns, is no guarantee of harmony in the England job.
“But we all said the same about Tuchel, yet when they go into that England dynamic, they just change, it’s crazy. I can’t put my finger on why.”
As England prepare for a third-place game Butt calls “stupid” and “pointless”, a 21-year-old midfielder waits to see if he will finally be trusted – or if he will quietly step away, as one of his club’s treble winners insists he should. The match in Lyon may decide nothing in the record books, but it could say everything about where this England project goes next.
