David Moyes rise to £6 million. All of this gave Everton and its fans cause for optimism as a string of strong performances broke the pattern inconsistency which saw league finishes of 15th, 7th, 17th, 4th and 11th under Moyes. His reputation as a disciplinarian could be seen to manifest in Everton's yellow card count. They received just 27 yellow cards all season – the lowest in the league and six fewer than their nearest rival Liverpool. Moyes recruited Steve Round as his assistant manager for the 2008–09 season to replace Alan Irvine, who had taken over as Preston North End manager
History of Everton F.C. race in history. The club managed to make the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they were beaten by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. March and April brought seven consecutive wins to cement their fifth-place position, with realistic hopes of occupying a Champions League spot at the end of the season. However, a surprising loss at home to Crystal Palace threatened to derail the challenge as the club entered the final four games of the season. Everton then defeated Manchester United 2–0 at Goodison Park, a match that proved to be ex-manager David Moyes last game in charge of the