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
Sunderland A.F.C. season he resigned from the position. Sam Allardyce was appointed the next manager in October 2015, and the club was again saved from relegation at the end of the season. In July 2016, Allardyce left the club to be announced as manager for the English national team, and former Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes was appointed as his replacement. Under Moyes, Sunderland made the worst ever start to a Premier League season, taking just two points from their opening 10 matches. The club was relegated to the second tier for the first time in 10 years at the