Billy Kenny was a young promise of Everton and one of the great hopes of English football in the 90s.
They nicknamed him ‘Goodison Magpie’came to make his debut for the England U-21 team and was named player of a game as Everon beat Liverpool 2-1 in 1992 at the age of 19, but in the end his career dwindled to 17 games for Everton, four with Everton. Oldham Athletic and two with him Barrow.
The injuries and the use of cocaine and alcohol nipped in the bud a promising career in the world of football It ended when Billy Kenny was only 21 years old..
In Great Britain they consider that Billy Kenny is one of the greatest talents that English football has lost in its entire history.
Billy Kenny: “I drank alcohol and used cocaine for 25 years without stopping. I’m surprised I’m still alive”
In a recent interview Billy Kenny, who is currently 49 years old, acknowledges in ‘Liverpool Echo’ that “I’m surprised to be alive.”
“I never had a beer until I got to the Everton first team. It was kind of the norm… I felt I had to fit in the team because I was just a kid at the time. That was when I drank alcohol and did cocaine for 25 years non-stop. It’s been non-stop. I’m surprised he’s still alive. I’d just get up, drink, drink for two days, drink for three days, sleep for two days, eat Chinese food and come back to the same thing,” Billy Kenny explains to Joe Thomas.
I was a selfish piece of shit. All I wanted was alcohol and drugs
“I was a selfish piece of shit. All I wanted was alcohol and drugs,” stressed the ex-soccer player.
Billy Kenny admits that he is very sorry for how bad he put his parents through: “This is my biggest regret and it will not go away: what I did to my father and mother. My father loves football , but there was a time when he couldn’t leave the house because they asked him everywhere he went: “Is Billy okay? He killed him.”
I’m sober and that’s great. I’m aware of where I went wrong when I was younger
After the death of his mother, Billy Kenny found the strength to fight a drug addiction that has plagued his life for more than 25 years: “I’m sober and that’s great. I know where I went wrong when I was younger. I can see that I clearly needed help, but the help wasn’t there for me.”
I still have my bad days, where I have to work really hard to stay sane and sober, but I feel like life is going great for me.
“I have a second chance in life. I played for Everton and nobody can take that away from me. I enjoyed it. Now, this is another phase of my life and I’m starting to enjoy it”, he said about a future in which he still has a way to go struggle: “I still have my bad days, where I have to work really hard to stay sane and sober, but I feel like life is going great for me.”
