The 1994-95 season was a success for Everton, despite a poor finish in the league at 15th position, they won the FA Cup, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final thanks to a Paul Rideout goal. En route to the final, Everton demolished Tottenham in the semis, as Daniel Amokachi stole the show to score two great goals. They faired much worse in the league cup, losing to first division club, Portsmouth.
Everton failed to reproduce similar success in the FA Cup the following season as they crashed out in the forth round against lowly Port Vale. However they made a vast improvement in their league form and finished the season off very strongly in sixth position, Duncan Ferguson being their best player during the season. Everton recorded 17 league victories out of a possible 38, this proved to be Everton’s best finish for 8 years, since the 1987-88 season.
After success in the league the previous season, Everton fell apart as the 1996-97 campaign progressed, they were poor in both cup competitions, losing to lower league opposition in both competitions, York City and Bradford respectively. They stuttered badly in the league after the New year and ended the season in 15th place.
If the 1996-97 season was a poor one for Everton, the 1997-98 campaign was a total disaster. Their league form plummeted even further, just avoiding relegation, finishing in 17th position. They had nothing to shout about from the cup competitions as they crashed out early in the third round in both cup competitions.