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 15 games, 13 points behind leaders Arsenal. Moyes said that he took "complete responsibility" for United's defeats but said he was confident his team would improve. Moyes did however have a positive start to his first Champions League campaign with the club. United finished top of their group after winning four of their six group stage matches. In January 2014, United were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Swansea City, losing 2–1 at home, and lost in the semi-final of the Football League Cup, with Sunderland winning a penalty shoot-out. Following consecutive 0–3 home defeats