It was nearly 11 years ago when David Moyes was abruptly sacked as Manchester United manager after a stressful 10 months at Old Trafford. The game that sealed his fate was ironically a 2-0 loss to Everton. It was arguably the lowest point of his career.
Moyes will be in a much more ebullient mood at Goodison Park today when bouyant Everton take on the club that dumped him all those years ago. In fact, the manager under pressure this time is Ruben Amorim with United embarrassingly in a lowly 15th place. Moyes may even sympathise with Amorim knowing all too well the extraordinary pressures of the United job.
To fully appreciate what Moyes has achieved it is necessary to recall the difficult times he has overcome.
When Sir Alex Ferguson chose Moyes as his successor in 2013 most pundits thought it was a reasonable choice after his successful 11-year stint at Everton. It was always going to be difficult to step into Ferguson's shoes however, and Moyes later admitted the job was "harder than expected" and soon the writing was on the wall.
A year in Spain with Real Sociedad began well enough including a win over Barcelona, but his second season started badly and he was soon on his way. Moyes went on to suffer a dismal time at Sunderland, although he is not the only gaffer to have experienced that. To be fair he inherited a poor team and it was no surprise when the season ended in relegation. On his time at Sunderland he later commented "I did not enjoy the experience."
Following the humbling experience at Sunderland Moyes had two spells at West Ham. He was first appointed manager in Nov 2017 when he took over a struggling Hammers side and although he managed to avoid relegation his contract was not renewed. However, 18 months later he was back, taking over from the sacked Manuel Pellegrini.
Despite going on to win the Europa Conference title in 2023, West Ham's first silverware in 43 years, many Hammers fans did not like what they perceived as Moyes' conservative style of play and it was no surprise when he left the Hammers at the end of the 2023-24 season.
What Moyes has achieved since returning to Everton is extremely impressive. When he took over from Sean Dyche in January the Toffees were hovering just above the relegation zone and looking quite vulnerable.
Last weekend's 2-1 away win at Crystal Palace made it four wins in six matches for Moyes. Everton are now 13 points above the relegation zone, sitting one place above today's opponents.
Even Moyes, usually cautious about what he says is showing signs of optimism. After the victory over Palace he commented: "Everton have experienced a difficult period. But I certainly think there's a light at the end of the tunnel."
Adding to the feel-good factor for Everton fans is knowing that next season they will be watching their team playing at the state-of-the-art Bramley-Moore Dock stadium.
When Moyes was at Everton all those years ago a regular chant at Goodison Park was "Davey, Davey Moyes -- he's got red hair but we don't care." The Scot has grey hair these days, but for sure, the Everton fans don't care.