David Moyes · Biography

David William Moyes made his first-team debut for Celtic on 15 August 1981, coming off the bench in a 4-1 League Cup win over Hibernian at Celtic Park. Born in Glasgow on 25 April 1963, he was a centre-back who spent almost two decades playing in Scotland and England. His managerial career then took him through Preston North End, Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham United, and back to Everton in January 2025.

Playing career

Moyes captained Scotland at under-18 level in 1980 and broke into the Celtic side the following year. He made 24 league appearances for the Glasgow club between 1980 and 1983 and was part of the squad that won the Scottish Premier Division in 1981-82. In October 1983 he moved to England with Cambridge United, where he played 79 league games. Bristol City came next in 1985. With them he won the Associate Members' Cup in 1985-86 and reached the final again a year later. He then played for Shrewsbury Town from 1987 to 1990 and Dunfermline Athletic from 1990 to 1993, and started the 1991 Scottish League Cup final for Dunfermline. After a brief stop at Hamilton Academical in 1993 he joined Preston North End and won the Third Division title in 1995-96. He finished his playing career with 535 league appearances and 43 goals.

Preston North End

Preston appointed Moyes manager on 12 January 1998, while he was still registered as a player. Two years later he led the club to the Second Division title in 1999-2000, which brought promotion to the second tier. He took charge of 234 matches at Deepdale and left on 14 March 2002, the day he joined Everton.

Everton, 2002-2013

Moyes arrived at Goodison Park on 14 March 2002 and stayed for more than eleven years and 518 matches. In 2004-05 Everton finished fourth in the Premier League. It was their highest league position since 1988 and earned them a place in Champions League qualifying. In 2009 he took the team to the FA Cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Chelsea at Wembley. The League Managers Association named him Manager of the Year three times, for 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2008-09. He left on 5 June 2013 to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Manchester United and Real Sociedad

Moyes started at Old Trafford on 1 July 2013 and won the FA Community Shield that August. United dismissed him on 22 April 2014 after 51 matches. In November 2014 he moved to Spain to take over Real Sociedad. His first match there, on 22 November, ended 0-0 against Deportivo de La Coruña. On 4 January 2015 his side beat Barcelona 1-0 at Anoeta. He was sacked on 9 November 2015, after 42 matches.

Sunderland and a first spell at West Ham

Sunderland appointed him on 23 July 2016. The team were relegated from the Premier League, which was confirmed in April 2017, and Moyes resigned on 22 May 2017 without taking compensation. On 7 November 2017 he took over at West Ham United on a short-term deal. He kept the side in the Premier League over 31 matches and left on 13 May 2018.

West Ham United, 2019-2024

He returned to the London Stadium on 30 December 2019. In 2020-21 West Ham set a club record for Premier League points. In 2021-22 they reached the Europa League semi-finals, where they lost 3-1 on aggregate to Eintracht Frankfurt. On 7 June 2023 in Prague, West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League final, and Jarrod Bowen scored the winner. It was the club's first major trophy in 43 years. Moyes was named Manager of the Year at the London Football Awards in 2021 and 2022. His second spell ended on 19 May 2024 after 231 matches.

Return to Everton

In the New Year Honours list published on 31 December 2024 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Everton brought him back on 11 January 2025 to replace Sean Dyche. He was named Premier League Manager of the Month for February 2025 after the team went unbeaten through the month. Everton finished 13th in 2024-25, their last season at Goodison Park, and moved to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2025.