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 saga that lasted for the entire transfer window. With the money from the Lescott sale, Moyes brought in Johnny Heitinga, Sylvain Distin and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. He also re-signed Jô on a season-long loan and Lucas Neill on a free transfer. Moyes was named as Premier League Manager of the Month for January 2010 after three wins and a draw. Moyes' took charge of his 600th match as a manager on 6 February 2010 in the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool which resulted in a 1–0 defeat. Everton ended the season in eighth place, failing to qualify for Europe for the first