Alan Stubbs Labels David Moyes’s Treadmill Accident ‘The Best Injury Story’

Former Everton defender Alan Stubbs has shared what he considers his most memorable injury story, which involves a surprising incident. While Stubbs himself ultimately retired from playing due to a knee injury, he primarily recalls a time when his manager sustained an injury in an unexpected manner. Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sacked in the Morning podcast, Stubbs recounted, “When I was at Everton, David Moyes was the manager at the time and was going through a little bit of a health kick.” He added that Moyes “was trying to get a little bit fitter.” One afternoon, at Finch Farm, the club’s state-of-the-art training ground, Stubbs and his teammates were in the large gym. Moyes, referred to as “the gaffer,” was on a treadmill with fitness coach Dave Billows. Billows was increasing the treadmill’s speed, and Moyes encouraged him, saying, “‘Yeah, you can go a bit faster, a bit faster,’ so Dave’s put it up.” As Moyes attempted to maintain his pace, he lost his footing and fell on the treadmill, which was operating at approximately 16 to 17 miles per hour. The momentum propelled him backward into a piece of weight apparatus. Instead of offering sympathy, Stubbs explained that he and his Everton teammates chose to feign ignorance of the event. Stubbs continued, “He has scraped all of his face and his leg on the treadmill and we all just ran out of gym because we all knew what was going to happen next.” The players proceeded to the changing rooms. Shortly after, Moyes emerged and went into the coaches’ changing room. The team then entered, pretending to inquire, “‘All right has anyone seen the gaffer?'” as if unaware of what had occurred. Upon seeing Moyes, it was evident that “all his face was cut and all his legs.” Stubbs concluded by stating, “So yeah, that was probably the best one!”