Billy Kenny, once one of England’s most promising young footballers, has spoken of his anger at Everton for not looking after him during his teenage years. Now 53, Kenny wiped away tears as he recalled how a drinking culture at the club enveloped him after he broke into the first team. “I was just a kid and no one was there for me,” he said. “I’m angry with Everton for not looking after me. Listen, I’m no angel. I’ve played my part, but there are other people who played their part in the demise of Billy Kenny. So I’m still bitter and frustrated today, at the age of 53. It was an absolute waste of talent.”
A career that promised so much
Kenny was pursued by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool and Howard Kendall at Everton, but chose his beloved Everton. For a few fleeting months his talent shimmered, most memorably in a man-of-the-match performance against Liverpool at Goodison Park in December 1992. His teammate Peter Beardsley called him “the Goodison Gazza”. Kenny played once for England’s under-21s in March 1993, but his fall echoes the addictions of Paul Gascoigne.
Kenny discovered cocaine in the early hours after his greatest game, when he had just turned 19. A cocaine habit spiralled out of control and he retired from professional football two years later, having played 23 games for Everton, four for Oldham and two for Barrow. He struggled as an addict for years and ended up in prison.
‘The only time I’ve had peace was when I was locked up’
Kenny, who is clean now, says he has been off drink and drugs since his mother died 15 years ago. “I came off the drugs the day of her funeral and she’s given me the strength to stay sober,” he said. “I just couldn’t do it while she was alive and that’s what kills me.” He described being sent to the Priory in Cheshire at 19, where he was in group therapy with 60-year-old alcoholics: “I couldn’t relate to none of it.”
At 21, Kenny’s football life was over. He was sentenced to nine months in prison – six for drink-driving and three for missing the original trial. “I did five months and got myself in the gym, played five-a-side. No drugs, no drink. In a crazy way the only time I’ve had peace in my life was when I was locked up.” He was later fortunate to escape a 14-month sentence because the judge was an Evertonian, and he got a suspended sentence.
Learning to live with depression
Kenny says he still gets depression but is getting “three or four good days a week now where for 25 years I didn’t have one fucking good day”. He added: “I don’t go round the pub. I don’t phone anyone for drugs. I let it take its toll. Now the depression can knock all it wants. I’ve learned to live with it.”
Reflecting on his choices, Kenny said he would probably still choose Everton if he had to do it again because he loved the fans. “I’m one of them,” he said. “I just see Everton as the club who never looked after me.” His book, The Goodison Gazza, is published by Reach on 8 October.
