Everton prodigy Billy Kenny exposes drinking culture that destroyed his career

When former Everton prodigy Billy Kenny sat down at Liverpool’s Slaughterhouse pub, he opened up about the drinking culture that he says wrecked his career. The interview, recorded in October, was conducted by IAN HERBERT, DEPUTY CHIEF SPORTS WRITER, and forms the centrepiece of his new book, The Goodison Gazza.

Early promise at Goodison Park

At 19, Kenny starred in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park in December 1992, earning man‑of‑the‑match honours and attracting attention from the biggest clubs. Peter Beardsley once dubbed him ‘the Goodison Gazza’, a nickname that still haunts him.

First taste of excess

After sealing victory in that derby, Kenny celebrated at the Setter and Vine pub in Anfield and then at Club Fridays, a Liverpool nightclub. He recalls casually accepting a friend’s offer of cocaine, later describing it as ‘crossing the wrong white line’. The book details how manager Howard Kendall, himself battling alcohol problems, supplied chablis and Guinness, further normalising excess.

Influences and missed chances

During a late‑season appearance away to Tottenham Hotspur in 1991‑92, Kenny spotted Paul Gascoigne eating fish and chips on the bench, a moment he says highlighted the lack of guidance for young players. Norman Whiteside, then an Everton teammate, offered advice, teaching Kenny patience and calm. Kenny writes, “He taught me all about patience… he told me to relax, to calm down and not get too distracted.”

Consequences and reflections

Kenny left Everton in 1994, later playing for Oldham and Barrow, before his career ended within two years. He describes his first youth cup final at Goodison as ‘one of the worst of my life’, recalling he was more focused on finding Kendall and Colin Harvey in the stands than on the game itself.

What might have been

Manchester United and Liverpool pursued Kenny’s signature, and he met both Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish. He speculates that under Ferguson’s strict discipline, his trajectory could have differed. Kenny also reflects on his childhood friend Ryan Giggs, noting, “Ryan went on the right path and if I’d taken the same one things might have been different.”

The narrative, compiled with journalist Jamie Fahey, paints a stark picture of a club environment that enabled addiction and curtailed potential. As Kenny sips a beer in the pub, he urges current players to recognise the dangers of a culture that once destroyed his promise.