David Moyes played for Cambridge United, Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town and Dunfermline Athletic before ending his playing career with Preston North End. He became a coach at Preston, working his way up to assistant manager before eventually taking over as manager in 1998, his first managerial position. Moyes led Preston to the Division Two title in 1999–2000 and the Division One play-off final the following season. Moyes became manager of Everton in March 2002 and under him the club qualified for the third qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League in 2005 and reached the 2009 FA Cup Final. Upon reaching his
David Moyes battling relegation. Their European campaign ended with a loss to Villareal in the qualifying round. Moyes signed Nuno Valente, Andy van der Meyde, Simon Davies, Per Krøldrup, and Phil Neville; signed Matteo Ferrari on loan; and made Arteta a permanent signing. They climbed from bottom place in late October to a secure 11th-place finish at the end of the season. Moyes broke the club transfer record for a second time at the start of the 2006–07 season with the £8.6 million acquisition of Andrew Johnson. Joleon Lescott was also signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers while goalkeeper Tim Howard arrived from Manchester