Who is David Moyes?

His playing days
Born in the Glasgow suburb of Bearsden, David Moyes enjoyed a successful, if modest, playing career. The fact he has moved to Spain should come as little surprise, as he moved abroad as a teenager to boost his playing career, heading to Iceland aged 16 to join the youth team of ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar. A promising youngster, the centre-back headed back to Scotland to join giants Celtic, making his first team debut on 15 August 1981. He was in the squad when they were knocked out of the 1982/83 edition of the European Cup by Real Sociedad.

After leaving Celtic in 1983, Moyes went on to play for Cambridge United FC, Bristol City FC, Shrewsbury Town FC, Dunfermline Athletic FC, Hamilton Academical FC and finally Preston North End FC. It was in Preston where, after 142 appearances for the Lillywhites, he took his first foray into the world of coaching.

Preston North End (January 1998 - March 2002)
Despite lacking managerial experience, he led a side in serious danger of relegation to England’s fourth tier to safety in his first five months in charge and the following season spearheaded a charge to the play-offs. In 1999/00 they went one better, lifting the Division Two title and earning promotion to Division One for the first time in 20 years.

Just 12 months later, Moyes took Preston to the verge of promotion to the Premier League, reaching the play-off final where they were beaten 3-0 by Bolton Wanderers FC. Despite falling at the final hurdle, Moyes’s achievements were not lost on Everton FC, who named him as the successor to Walter Smith in March 2002.

Everton (March 2002 - May 2013)
Just like at Preston, Moyes’ first task at Everton was to steady a sinking ship, guiding the Merseyside club to safety in the final three months of the season. The following year he lead the Toffees to seventh in the Premier League, their highest league finish since 1996, and also won the Manager of the Year Award. That season he handed a first team debut to a 16-year-old Wayne Rooney, who two years later was sold to Manchester United for £25.6 million (32m euros). Despite losing his star man, Moyes took Everton to fourth spot in 2004/05 and into the UEFA Champions League, although they were denied a place in the group stages after a defeat to Villarreal in the play-offs.

The other highlight of Moyes’ tenure at Everton was taking the team to the 2009 FA Cup final, losing the Wembley showpiece 2-1 to Chelsea FC. On a modest budget and thanks to a series of shrewd signings - including Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott [sold to Manchester City for £22 million (28m euros)], Phil Neville, Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Seamus Coleman and Tim Howard - the Scot changed Everton’s mentality from a club used to finishing in the bottom half of the table to a team regularly challenging for the European places.

"The guy has been here 11 years and has transformed the playing staff, the coaching staff, the facilities from top to bottom", said Jagielka when Moyes departed for Manchester United FC. "He has done a lot for the cub but he is leaving it in a great state". 

Manchester United (July 2013 - April 2014)
His long and stable spell at Everton made Moyes a natural successor to Sir Alex Ferguson and the appointment was widely praised in the media at the time. However, his tenure at Old Trafford was stifled by a barren transfer window and an ageing squad coming to the end of its tether, and he was relieved of his duties in April after failing to qualify for the Champions League.

The size of the task Moyes faced in succeeding Ferguson has only been underlined by Louis van Gaal’s struggles since stepping into the hot seat: United had two more points under Moyes at this stage of last season than they do under the Dutchman.

"I was devastated to lose the job because it was something I felt I could make a real success of", Moyes said after leaving United. "We knew it was going to take time to make the necessary changes. In the end, I don't feel I was given time to succeed or fail". And his nine months at Old Trafford were by no means a complete failure: Moyes convinced Rooney to pen a new long-term contract after months of uncertainty about his future, signed Juan Mata and also followed the fine Manchester United tradition of promoting young players by bringing 18-year-old Adnan Januzaj into the team.