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. of David Moyes to sign a new contract increased the gloom amongst supporters. In the last week of the transfer window, the club transfer record was broken with the signing of Marouane Fellaini for £15 million from Standard Liège. Everton failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup group stages, as they were eliminated by Liège, with Fellaini ineligible to play against his former team. Moyes did eventually sign a new five-year contract with the club, and with it fortunes began to turn. A strong run in November and December (eight wins and two draws in 12 league games) propelled the