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
The Kirkby Project later accused the previous council of 'shame' in not doing enough to keep Everton within the city boundaries. Former Everton players have backed the KEIOC movement including ex-Everton fans favourite Duncan Ferguson and Tony Kay.Former Everton manager David Moyes was photographed with fan campaign group Keep Everton In Our City during a pre-season tour in the United States. A club official said '"He was not aware of the wording on the banner when the photograph was taken.'". David Moyes has never commented. Keep Everton In Our City went on to voice their concerns over the stadium proposal at the Public