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 there so just watch yourself. You still might get a slap even though you're a woman. Careful the next time you come in". Moyes apologised for the incident. The FA wrote to Moyes to ask for his observations on the incident. Later that month, Sunderland were confirmed to be relegated to the EFL Championship for the first time in ten years after a 1–0 loss to Bournemouth, marking the first relegation of Moyes' career. After the match, Moyes stated that he would like to remain as manager. However, on 22 May 2017, one day after the end of the Premier