On this day in 1995, neither Everton nor Manchester United had had good seasons by their standards, although United were Double Winners the previous season, but they had lost the Premier League to Blackburn (hard to imagine isn't it?) and Everton had just avoided relegation. The two clubs met in the FA Cup Final and United were expected to claim the trophy, despite not having Eric Cantona who was suspended following his "kung-fu kick moment". Kanchelskis was injured and Andy Cole was cup tied. As it was, those missing "stars" opened the door, United struggled and Joe Royle's Toffees, haunted by relegation, won thanks to a goal from Paul Rideout.
Just over 79,000 watched this contest. The referee was G. Ashby, who remained on the Premier League list until his retirement; his final match, on 3 May 1998, seeing champions Arsenal beat Everton 4–0 at Highbury, He then became a Premier League referees' assessor. Gerald Ashby died from a heart attack, at the young age of 52!
| Full name | Gerald R Ashby | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 6 November 1949 Worcestershire, England | ||
| Died | 17 December 2001 (aged 52) Worcestershire, England | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1982–1985 | Football League | Asst. referee | |
| 1985–1992 | Football League | Referee | |
| 1992–1998 | Premier League | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1992–1994 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
This was Wembley's 50th post-war final and a reminder to all fans that League "form" is not reliable when predicting the destination of the Cup. Despite Everton being haunted by relegation, The Toffees won! Cantona had been suspended following his "kung fu kick" at an abusive spectator during a league match at Selhurst Park...remember it? (or if you are too young to have seen it live..look it up). Cantona's absence was critical as United could only finish as "double runners-up".
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