Moyes was a Scotland national team captain at Under-18 level, but had a largely unspectacular playing career. He played for Celtic, Cambridge United, Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town, Dunfermline Athletic and Hamilton Academical before his longest stint as a player at Preston North End.
At the end of the 2012/13 season, Moyes was appointed as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor at Manchester United. However, he was sacked nine months later before the end of a dismal 2013/14 campaign.
Moyes had unsuccessful spells in charge of Real Sociedad and Sunderland before moving on to West Ham United, where he's enjoyed greater fortunes over the course of two separate stints.
He saved West Ham from relegation twice, then steered the club into Europe in three consecutive seasons.
Moyes wrote his name in West Ham folklore, joining Ron Greenwood and John Lyall as trophy-winning Hammers managers.
In January 2025, he returned to Everton for a second spell at the club.
Moyes began his managerial career with Preston North End in January 1998. He replaced Gary Peters with Preston struggling in Division Two and desperate to avoid relegation.
On 14 March 2002, Moyes took charge of Everton.
Moyes hit the ground running with a 2-1 win over Fulham and steered Everton to safety after inheriting a side from Walter Smith that was in serious danger of relegation.
The 05/06 season was another difficult one and Everton finished 11th in the Premier League, exiting the Champions League before the group stages, but in 2006/07, after another round of squad reinforcements, the team stabilised.
Everton finished in the top six in each of the next three Premier League seasons, establishing themselves as the strongest challenger to the "big four" at the time (Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal).
In 2008/09, they made the FA Cup final but lost 2-1 to Guus Hiddink's Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
Everton finished eighth in 2009/10 and seventh in each of the next two seasons, but then sixth - ahead of local rivals Liverpool - in 2012/13.
Moyes left for Manchester United after that season, ending a successful and lengthy spell at Everton, but one which did not yield any major trophies.
Moyes signed a six-year contract at Manchester United and overhauled the coaching staff, bringing in his own methods rather than making gradual adaptations to those of his predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson, who spent 27 years in charge.
United were poor in the Premier League in 2013/14 and were knocked out of the third round of the FA Cup by Swansea City.
Moyes was mocked by many after saying following a defeat to fierce rivals Manchester City that Manchester United should aspire to be more like Manchester City.
Rio Ferdinand, who played as a centre-back for Manchester United under Ferguson and then Moyes, has said that Moyes spent too much time worrying about the strengths of the Red Devils' opponents and not enough focusing on winning football matches.
After a defeat to Everton in April 2014, and the club in seventh position in the Premier League, Moyes was sacked by Manchester United.
🗓️ OTD 2014: Manchester United sacked David Moyes just 10 months into his six-year contract #MUFC pic.twitter.com/bxXOS6Kw8p
— PA Dugout (@PAdugout) April 22, 2018
Ryan Giggs took charge until the end of the season and, despite some degree of improvement to their form, could only secure seventh place in the Premier League, which they had won the previous season under Ferguson.
Moyes endured unsuccessful spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland, where he was relegated, before taking charge of West Ham United in November 2017.
He kept the team in the Premier League, but was not offered a new contract after the 2017/18 season and left the club.
His successor, Manuel Pellegrini, failed to improve West Ham's fortunes, so Moyes was reinstated as manager midway through the 2019/20 season.
This time last season, West Ham were 16th in the league, four points clear of relegation
— The Sack Race (@thesackrace) April 27, 2021
This season, they're three points off the Champions League, above the likes of Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal.
David Moyes is rightly named as the LFA Manager of the Year... 🏆#WHUFC pic.twitter.com/XI7LXOTUUr
West Ham enjoyed similar success in the 2021/22 season, challenging on multiple fronts in both the Premier League and Europa League.
The Hammers reached their first European semi-final for over 40 years under Moyes, after he steered the side to the Europa League last four in April 2022.
After a disappointing 2022/23 season in the Premier League, where West Ham only managed to finish in 14th just six points clear of relegation, Moyes found his job under threat. But in Europe it was a totally different kettle of fish.
After an unbeaten run to the Europa Conference League final, Jarrod Bowen's last-minute winner saw West Ham end their 43-year wait for a trophy with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Italian side Fiorentina in Prague.
The Irons won a first piece of silverware since 1980's FA Cup, and a first European trophy since 1965.
Just nine weeks before their manager watched as the away fans unfurled a 'Moyes Out' banner during a scratchy 1-0 win over Fulham, which likely saved his job.
Now Moyes has written his name in West Ham folklore, joining Ron Greenwood and John Lyall as trophy-winning Hammers managers. A place in the 2023/24 Europa League meant the club qualified for Europe three campaigns in a row, for the first time.
Declan Rice became only the third captain, along with Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, to lift silverware in the club's 128-year history.
Despite one of the best starts to a Premier League campaign in the 2023/24 season, West Ham crumbled after Christmas and the calls for Moyes' head once again grew louder and louder.
The Hammers began dropping down the table and were knocked out of the Europa League following a quarter-final loss to German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
West Ham were thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea in early May which effectively ended their slim hopes of earning European qualification for a fourth-straight campaign.
That heavy defeat came on the back of a 2-2 draw with Liverpool and 5-2 loss at Crystal Palace. They beat Luton in the penultimate game of the season and cemented a 9th place finish.
Moyes signed off his four-and-a-half years in charge with a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, but felt he left the team in good shape.
During his second spell at the club, Moyes won 103 of the 231 in was in charge for, with a win percentage of 44.59%.
As well as winning the 2023 Europa Conference League, he took the club to three consecutive seasons in Europe and finishes of sixth and seventh in the Premier League.
The 61-year-old said: “I think there are a lot of things for the club to take forward and a lot of things we’ve made better and I hope it continues.
“I’ve said to the players in the dressing room, they have to keep it going. They’ve set some standards in the Premier League and let’s see if they can maintain it.”
West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan offered “sincere thanks and gratitude” for Moyes’ efforts in the job.
“David has been responsible for a period of great progress and success in our history and we are extremely grateful for all of his hard work, commitment and dedication to the role,” Sullivan said.
“David has been an absolute professional to work with and he will leave with our greatest respect and good wishes – he deserves to be held in the highest esteem for the service he has given to West Ham United and we wish him every success in the future."
On January 11, 2025, Moyes was named as new Everton manager for the second time replacing Sean Dyche who was sacked two days before.
Moyes, who signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, took over with Everton 16th in the Premier League - one point clear of the relegation zone - with only three wins from 19 games this season.
"I enjoyed 11 wonderful and successful years at Everton and didn't hesitate when I was offered the opportunity to rejoin this great club," said Moyes.
"Now we need Goodison and all Evertonians to play their part in getting behind the players in this important season so we can move into our fabulous new stadium as a Premier League team."
Moyes has a daughter and a son and is reported to be a devout Christian and a supporter of the Labour Party.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Moyes delivered fruit and vegetables to those in need.
However, he attracted negative press in 2017 when he said to BBC reporter Vicki Sparks: "You were just getting a wee bit naughty at the end there, so just watch yourself. You still might get a slap, even though you're a woman. Careful the next time you come in."
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