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
David Moyes and a 2–1 home defeat by West Bromwich Albion, with several journalists stating the pressure was now on despite it being early in his reign. On 2 September 2013, Moyes signed Marouane Fellaini on a four-year contract, with the option of extension of another season, reuniting with his former player in a £27.5 million deadline day deal. In December, Manchester United lost Premier League matches at home to Everton and Newcastle United in the space of four days, suffering back-to-back league defeats at Old Trafford for the first time since the 2001–02 season. United were ninth in the table after