FA Cup Final against Manchester United. Everton won the game 1–0, with Southall making a double save from Paul Scholes; the victory left Southall as the most decorated Everton player in the club's history. In the summer of 1995 Southall was given a testimonial match against Celtic as well as an MBE – during the ceremony the Queen asked Southall "what will you do now that you're retired?". He went on to keep a clean sheet in the 1995 FA Charity Shield, as Everton beat Blackburn Rovers 1–0. He remained an ever-present in the 1995–96 season, though Royle then tried to sign Crystal Palace goalkeeper Nigel Martyn. He tried to sell Southall to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but cancelled the deal after becoming concerned over the pre-season form of touted replacement Paul Gerrard, and instead doubled Southall's wages to £6,000 a week with a new two-year contract. Despite this, Royle dedicated an entire chapter of his 2005 autobiography to decrying Southall as a "potential weak link". After a promising start to the 1996–97, Everton were beaten six times in a row after Christmas and Southall resorted to ringing up a phone-in radio show to defend manager Joe Royle from unhappy supporters. Royle dropped Southall from the team despite the show of support, though he rejected a transfer offer from Chelsea, who were prepared to double Southall's wages. Caretaker-manager Dave Watson restored Southall to the starting line-up after Royle's resignation, and steered the club away from relegation. Howard Kendall returned again to manage Everton for the 1997–98 season and initially dropped Southall. However, Southall regained his place and had a memorable match playing against Coventry City on 25 October; Southall was "in inspired form" and kept a clean sheet. Southall played in the Everton goal for the final time on 29 November, in a 2–0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Thomas Myhre took his place in goal, and Southall rejected a coaching role at the club in order to search for first team football elsewhere. In December 1997, Southall went to Alvin Martin's Southend United of the Second Division on loan. He made 9 appearances in a brief stay at Roots Hall. He joined Chris Kamara's First Division Stoke City in February 1998. Kamara resigned two months later, and caretaker-manager Alan Durban pulled Southall aside on his first day in charge to say "I'll let you manage the reserves, so long as