In a race won convincingly by Paulo Di Canio back in September, Moyes initially started as rank outsider among the likes of Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger but quickly put himself ahead of these rivals after losing early on in the season against Man City and Liverpool. A home defeat against West Brom seemed only to prove Moyes' determination to get a decent finish, in spite of the backing from the board.
As the season wore on, more candidates crossed the finish line as Ian Holloway finished in second. Martin Jol collected bronze a fair distance behind, as Moyes' staying power was questioned following an unbeaten run through October and November.
The first couple of weeks in December put Moyes back among the pack as successive home defeats against Everton and Newcastle put his job into question, however it was Steve Clarke and Andre Villas-Boas who crossed the line next in what was a photo finish for 4th place.
Moyes' was left cursing the backing of his board, as Malky Mackay profited from his ambitious owners - being relieved of his duties just after Christmas.
David Moyed upped his game in January, being knocked out of both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup in the first week. He spent £37m on one player and a further defeat to Chelsea raised question marks over his ability as a manager as the Manchester United fans started to turn on him. He was looking good for an impressive 7th placed finish, despite the expectations of a DNF before the season started - but as luck should have it, Swansea parted ways with Brian Laudrup who had a late surge to snatch that position.
Fulham sacked their second manager of the season on Valentines Day, as Rene Meulensteen crossed the line to take 8th place and as the last few games approached, Norwich lost patience with Chris Hughton who crossed the line to grab 9th.
Moyes, now with the finish line in sight, claimed defeats once more against bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, now testing the resolve of his board. Defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League followed by a loss againts his former club, Everton, finally saw Moyes finish, claiming the last remaining spot in the top 10.
A resounding effort from the former Manchester United man, who broke many records along the way.
Never one to miss an opportunity, the creators of Football Manager 2014 tweeted this moments after the news broke of Moyes' departure;
Genius!
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