David Moyes spent his playing years quietly preparing to become a manager
David Moyes earned his coaching badges at just 22 and kept notes on the managers he played under, their methods and tactics. That groundwork carried him from Preston North End to 11 years at Everton, a brief spell succeeding Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and a European trophy with West Ham.
Born on 25 April 1963, Moyes was a centre-back who began at Celtic, winning a championship medal, then moved through Cambridge United, Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town and Dunfermline before finishing at Preston. At Shrewsbury he coached at a nearby private school, Concord College, to top up his wages. He made more than 530 league appearances before joining Preston's coaching staff and taking over as manager in January 1998.
He rescued a struggling Preston and won Division Two with them in 1999-2000 and into the Division One play-off final a year later, where they lost 3-0 to Bolton. While studying for his Pro Licence he shadowed Roy Hodgson at Udinese. In March 2002 he replaced Walter Smith at Everton, calling it the people's club at his unveiling, and his first game brought a 2-1 win over Fulham with a goal inside 30 seconds.
Everton lurched between extremes early on: seventh, then 17th with 39 points, then fourth in 2004-05, their best finish since 1988, which earned a Champions League qualifier. Signings such as Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Tim Howard, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines built his name as a team builder, and in 2007-08 the side collected just 27 yellow cards, the fewest in the league. He also reached the 2009 FA Cup final and was LMA Manager of the Year in 2003, 2005 and 2009.
He succeeded Ferguson at Manchester United in June 2013 but was dismissed the following April with the team seventh. Short stints at Real Sociedad and Sunderland followed, the latter ending in relegation. During a second spell at West Ham, from December 2019, he won the 2022-23 Europa Conference League against Fiorentina, the club's first major trophy in 43 years, and he returned to Everton the year after leaving West Ham in 2024.
Source: David Moyes
