7) Billy Kenny Jr.
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In 1992, Everton’s academy proudly unveiled their brand new striker, Willy Kenny in a 1-1 draw with Coventry City.
In the stands, former Everton player Billy Kenny Sr. must’ve been beaming to see his son graduating into the team where he could only make 14 appearances in 3 years. It must’ve been a proud moment for the Evertonian family. Let’s hope they enjoyed it because it was very short-lived.
At the beginning of his career, he was making serious waves in the English game. Former Everton superstar Peter Beardsley even went as far as to call him the Goodison Gazza – an ominous portent for his future (without any of the top-class football).
After starring in the first ever Merseyside derby the fancy new Premier League threw up, the powerful 19-year-old looked set to become a top, top player.
Instead, after 17 starts and months marred by injury, he was released for ‘gross misbehaviour’. This was after samples of his blood revealed just how far along his cocaine and alcohol addiction was.
At Oldham Athletic, he scored an own-goal and played just 4 times before being sacked from the club. At the ripe old age of 21, he had retired from professional football.
In a candid interview, he went on to explain how and why he had failed, with the difficult period while recovering from injury triggering much of his misdemeanours. “Some Monday mornings, I got home at four or five o'clock, had a couple of lines of coke, slept for an hour or so, then got a cab to the training ground.”
