in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Moyes signed Nuno Valente, Andy van der Meyde, Simon Davies, Per Krøldrup, and Phil Neville; signed Matteo Ferrari on loan; and made Arteta a permanent signing. They climbed from bottom place in late October to a secure 11th-place finish at the end of the season. Moyes broke the club transfer record for a second time at the start of the 2006–07 season with the £8.6 million acquisition of Andrew Johnson. Joleon Lescott was also signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers while goalkeeper Tim Howard arrived from Manchester United on a loan deal, which was later made permanent. All of these players would prove to be successful signings, further enhancing Moyes' reputation as a team builder. Whilst Everton's league form flourished again, their record in the FA Cup under Moyes did not improve: in the third round they crashed out 4–1 to Blackburn Rovers. An improved league position of sixth was secured along with UEFA Cup football for the next season. It was the 2007–08 season that Everton displayed the most consistency and stability since Moyes arrived at the club, finally ending the cycle of alternating between the top and bottom halves of the league. In his sixth full season in charge, Moyes secured fifth place in the league and reached the semi-final of the Football League Cup as well as the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, eventually being beaten on penalties by Fiorentina. Moyes also signed four more players who went on to become very important players for Everton: Yakubu was signed for another record fee of £11.25 million, Steven Pienaar for £2.05 million after an initial loan, Phil Jagielka was brought in for £4 million, and Leighton Baines was signed for a fee that could rise to £6 million. All of this gave Everton and its fans cause for optimism as a string of strong performances broke the pattern inconsistency which saw league finishes of 15th, 7th, 17th, 4th and 11th under Moyes. His reputation as a disciplinarian could be seen to manifest in Everton's yellow card count. They received just 27 yellow cards all season – the lowest in the league and six fewer than their nearest rival Liverpool. Moyes recruited Steve Round as his assistant manager for the 2008–09 season to replace Alan Irvine, who had taken over as Preston North End manager the previous winter. Everton's first new player