David Moyes

Lore & Background

Moyes made over 540 league appearances as a centre-back in a playing career that began with Celtic, where he won a championship medal. He then played for Cambridge United, Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town, and Dunfermline Athletic, ending his playing career with Preston North End. He became a coach at Preston, working his way up before 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 2002. The club managed a fourth-place finish in the league in 2004–05, their highest since 1988, and played in the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Champions League the following season, the first time since 1970–71. Moyes led Everton to a runners-up finish in the 2008–09 FA Cup, their best performance in the competition since winning in 1995. Everton consistently finished between fifth and eighth in the league under Moyes, and at the time of his departure, was the longest-serving manager in the league behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, at 11 years and 3 months.

Moyes succeeded Ferguson as manager of Manchester United in June 2013, but with the club 7th in the league in April 2014 and unable to qualify for European competition, he was dismissed. Moyes was appointed head coach of Spanish club Real Sociedad in November 2014, but was dismissed after a year in charge. In 2016, he replaced Sam Allardyce as manager of Sunderland, but resigned at the end of the 2016–17 season after the club was relegated to the EFL Championship.

Moyes was appointed manager of West Ham in November 2017 and led the club out of the relegation zone to a 13th-place finish, but left at the end of the season when his contract was not renewed. He was appointed at West Ham for a second time in December 2019, following the dismissal of Manuel Pellegrini. During his second stint, West Ham achieved two consecutive top-seven finishes in the Premier League, before victory in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, defeating Fiorentina in the final to achieve the club's first major silverware in 43 years. Moyes left West Ham in 2024, and returned to Everton the following year.

Reader's Guide

Moyes started his career at Icelandic club ÍBV, playing half a season with the youth team in 1978. He enjoyed a career that encompassed playing at a number of clubs, usually as a centre-back, beginning at Celtic, where he won a championship medal and made 24 league appearances, and ending with Preston North End. As a player with Cambridge United, Moyes received abuse from teammate Roy McDonough for his religious beliefs; Moyes is a practising Christian.

While playing for Shrewsbury Town in 1987, Moyes began coaching at the nearby private school, Concord College, on the recommendation of Jake King as a way to supplement his wages. Moyes later made over one hundred appearances for Dunfermline Athletic between 1990 and 1993, including a starting appearance in the 1991 Scottish League Cup final. Moyes made over 530 league appearances in his career before becoming a coach at Preston, working his way up to assistant manager before eventually taking over as manager in 1998.

Moyes captained Scotland at under-18 age group level. He played under former UEFA Technical Director Andy Roxburgh in 1980. Moyes took over as Preston North End manager in January 1998, replacing Gary Peters as the club struggled in Division Two and were in danger of relegation. He had spent much of his playing career preparing for management, taking coaching badges at just 22 years of age and compiling notes on managers he had played under, their techniques and tactics.

Preston avoided relegation at the end of the 1997–98 season and reached the Division Two play-offs the following season, where they were beaten by Gillingham at the semi-final stage. The following season, Moyes guided Preston to the Division Two title and a promotion to Division One. An even greater achievement perhaps was to steer Preston into the Division One play-offs the season after that, with largely the same squad. Preston lost 3–0 to Bolton Wanderers in the 2001 Football League First Division play-off final, missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

One month later, Moyes signed a new five-year contract with the club. In 2001, whilst studying for his UEFA Pro License, Moyes shadowed Roy Hodgson at Udinese during Hodgson's six month spell at the club. Towards the end of the following season, he left for Everton, to take over from fellow Scotsman Walter Smith in March 2002.