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
Alan Irvine (footballer, born 1958) City before leaving in November 2017 to join West Ham United under new manager, David Moyes. He left the east London club at the end of the 2017–18 season, after Moyes' contract was not renewed. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Irvine studied for qualification as an insurance broker whilst playing for Queen's Park. Irvine is a boyhood Leeds United fan, citing fellow Scot Eddie Gray as his favourite player. After Queen's Park, Irvine went on to play for Everton, Crystal Palace, Dundee United and Blackburn Rovers. He helped Everton win the 1983–84 FA Cup: despite being left out of the final