Sam Allardyce says David Moyes needs £200m to rebuild Manchester United

Sam Allardyce

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes that Manchester United boss David Moyes needs huge investment to rebuild the Old Trafford outfit’s squad for next season.

Moyes has endured a catastrophic first season at the Red Devils helm and large questions marks remain over the quality of the players that he has inherited, with a widespread consensus that a massive overhaul of personnel is necessary in order for United to compete for silverware next season.

“David is left with having to make more decisions about players at the end of the season than he expected. It looks like he will have to plan a rebuild and for a club like United, that could mean an outlay of £200m.

“The hard bit, even if you are United, is finding the players. They didn’t do that last summer and that’s probably one of the things David now regrets.

“He may have thought it was a big, strong squad – one which had just run away with the Premier League title – and that it just needed some tinkering,” declared Allardyce in his column for the London Evening Standard.

It is unclear whether Moyes underestimated the challenge that United posed but the Upton Park boss, who is a personal friend of Sir Alex Ferguson, also hinted that Moyes is unlikely to be provided the same patience from the club’s hierarchy that they afford his predecessor.

“There was a transition when Sir Alex went to United but in the modern day game, David knows he will not be accorded the same sort of time. These days, you have to work as quickly as you can.

“I don’t think David would have thought it was going to be this much of a challenge,” insisted Allardyce.

The pressure is growing on Moyes from all quarters and he has a number of decisions to make that could decide his future at the club. He was once believed to be the man charged with overseeing a long term project, but the manner of the club’s decline this season could yet see him sacked at the end of the campaign.