Mick Rathbone Rathbone then returned to Preston North End as physiotherapist. He spent six years at the club, during which time they progressed from Division Three (the fourth tier of English football) to the play-off for a place in the Premier League, latterly as part of David Moyes' backroom staff. When Moyes joined Everton as manager in March 2002, Rathbone followed a few months later after the clubs had agreed compensation. He spent nearly eight years at the club, becoming head of sports medicine, a post he left in May 2010 after what the "Liverpool Echo" described as "a tumultuous season of
Everton F.C. that Wayne Rooney broke into the first team before being sold to Manchester United for a club record fee of £28 million in the summer of 2004. A fourth-place finish in 2004–05 ensured that Everton qualified for the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. The team failed to make it through to the Champions League group stage and were then eliminated from the UEFA Cup. Everton qualified for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 UEFA Cup competitions, and they were runners-up in the 2009 FA Cup Final. During this period, Moyes broke the club record for highest transfer fee paid on four occasions: