Every football club in England has an "almost" man.
You know who they are, the talented youngster or academy graduate who shows so much promise only for it to never really blossom.
Everton FC had such a prospect and it could have seen them enjoy a more lucrative time in the Premier League had it come to fruition.
We are of course remembering Billy Kenny, the homegrown Toffees midfielder who could have been Goodison Park's answer to Steven Gerrard.
Son of Billy Kenny Senior, who also began life at Everton before moving to the United States to carve out a career, Kenny Junior looked to be the answer to the Blues' prayers.
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In a markedly average Everton side, led by then manager Howard Kendall, the young teenager often looked like the most dangerous player on the pitch.
Kenny made headlines and turned heads across the country when he was named man of the match in the first Merseyside derby of the Premier League era.
At only 18, Kenny had taken hold of the game, bossing a midfield contested by Liverpool greats - and England internationals - John Barnes, Jamie Redknapp, and Steve McManaman.
"That derby changed my life," Kenny later told the YouTube podcast Anything Goes. "Everyone wanted a piece of me, I loved it."
The teenager was heralded as a serious Everton prospect and the future of English football with Peter Beardsley dubbing him the "Goodison Gazza."
There was even a suggestion that Kenny could become a world class talent. He was the ultimate midfielder, possessing the balance, grace and vision of playmaker, combined with the aggression and tackling nuance of a holding midfielder.
He was just as good in defence as attack with a footballing brain that many had not seen in someone so young.
So how did this blistering Everton starlet become known as one of the biggest wastes of talent in English football history? From "hero to zero" as Kenny himself would put it.
It wasn't really Kenny's fault, and it feels as though, over the years, he has been demonised for his spectacular fall which really stemmed from mental health issues.
It began with growing problems.
Painful shin splints in both legs meant Kenny required an operation which left him with long scars down both limbs resulting from 100 stitches.
The procedure confined Kenny to the side lines for six months and, without training, he slipped into depression, alcohol dependency and drug-taking.
"I was depressed, but I didn't even know what that was at the time," said Kenny.
"I liked the way the alcohol made me feel, I was under pressure, I was always under pressure.
"I was thinking I will never play again, I feel terrible, it was the first time I had had an operation, and I was putting weight on."
He continued: "The only enjoyment I got was going out."
By the time he had returned to training, Kenny was a regular cocaine user and an alcoholic.
Constantly missing training to get drunk with his friends or turning up at the Bellefield training centre having not gone to bed the night before, and still reeling from his exploits, Kenny had "lost the plot."
Kenny's problems were almost an open secret at the club and his inevitable drug test failure in 1993 saw him fined two week wages and the player was sent to rehab.
Kendall obviously hoped that Kenny would regain his form but the Everton manager was sacked and his replacement, Mike Walker, was less forgiving with the Toffees prospect.
In March 1993, Kenny was sacked for "gross misbehaviour."
Walker told the Independent that one of the first things he had done as Everton manager was fine Kenny for being absent.
He said: "He has been dismissed for gross misbehaviour. I arrived in the middle of the last incident. I told him if he stepped out of line again there would be only one course of action."
According to the paper, Kenny was finally let go after refusing to be named as a substitute for a reserve match.
Within a year he had gone from England's hottest new prospect to a 20-year-old free agent.
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Luckily, for Kenny at least, former Everton striker Graeme Sharp decided to take a chance on the midfielder.
He was the manager at then First Division (Championship) side Oldham Athletic.
But Kenny's renaissance was short lived, he managed just four league appearances at the Manchester side, the lowlight being an own goal he netted in a 3-1 loss to Port Vale.
Kenny was sacked and he promptly retired from professional football aged 21.
Though he made further appearances for Barrow and Royal Seaforth, Kenny never came close to returning to his old form.
Many Evertonians will remember Kenny and his fantastic potential.
Thankfully Kenny, now aged 48, has been clean for eight years and is going into schools to talk about drug addiction.
Do you remember watching Kenny? Could he have been a great Everton player? Let us know in the comments.
