I broke Wayne Rooney’s club record but was driving a taxi three years later

Wayne Rooney could not have imagined that Everton would already have another player at the age of 21 who breaks his records.

The Toffees may have thought that Lightning hit twice when John-Paul Kissock first appeared through the youth ranks.

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In 2006, shortly after Rooney had completed his second season in Manchester United, his youth club tried another starlet on the same trajectory as the former English captain.

A then 16-year-old Kusock was put into the spotlight after broken Rooney’s record to be the youngest player in Everton’s reserve team.

The two scousers both grew into Everton-Mad families before they took part in the Toffees at a young age.

Kissock made so fast that he appeared for the English U16 team at the age of 14 and was with the U18s two years later.

“I’m a pretty shy person, so I didn’t like the limelight,” he said to Planetfootball in 2021 about the attention of the media he received.

“It was all a bit overwhelming for me at the time, while others that I was nearby who made a name for themselves, like Jose Baxter, hugged it.”

Kissock seemed short of a leading breakthrough when he was in the squad of the first team under David Moyes.

The midfielder had a handful of appearances in friendly games in the previous season before the 2008/09 campaign.

At the age of 18, Kissock was an unused replacement in the first four games of the campaign, but his competitive senior debut was never given.

Decades later, the now 35-year-old believes that his playing style liked him with Moyes’ defensive tactics in Goodison Park.

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David Moyes’ playing style at Everton

“Moyes is what I defensively call a great manager,” he added. “He likes a little solidity, which was not good for me because I was as I was.

“Moyes’ priority was the defense at first, but I would try to get it from the back of four and take races to create something and play my game how Neil and Gary do me.

“He didn’t like that. I found his way a little more difficult and I think he was frustrated about me.”

Everton reached the FA Cup final at the end of the 2008/09 season, but suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat against Chelsea.

Kissock, who had been on the bench in the opening rounds, knew that writing was on the wall after he was left out of the Wembley squad.

Since then he has admitted that he wanted to completely quit football after Moyes had broken the news that he had no future in Goodison Park.

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“I was destroyed to leave Everton,” Kissock told Liverpool Echo. “I have supported her all my life and will always love the club.

“I wasn’t the Moyes player. He doesn’t have many extravagant players in his side.

“But you can’t argue with what he achieved in Everton and I wish him all the best. I was on the bench a lot and there were times when I thought I could continue.

“However, it never happened and I was disappointed. Moyes took me to his office to deliver the news, and it was a terrible day, one of the worst experiences of my life.

“When he told me it was terrible. There were uncontrollable tears. I collapsed in the changing room, even though I was determined not to do it.

“I had been in the club for 12 years and it was difficult to tell the family, especially my father. He is a crazy blue and it was a shock.

“Everyone thought I would have earned a chance. The most annoying thing is not to have played a single game, I wanted to achieve that.

“I didn’t want to play football afterwards. I just wanted to stop.”

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Kissock’s career after the Everton

After leaving Everton, Kissock had a four -month stay in the Scottish League for Hamilton Academical.

He was released in early December 2009 and started working for a taxi rental company.

He reappeared in Newton in West Cheshire League after he was encouraged by family and friends to give football another crack.

Kissock also turned out for another local team, Formby, before it turned out for National League Clubs such as Southport, Luton Town, Ebbsfleet United and Whitehawk.

In January 2019, the player, who is lovingly known as “non -league messi” by Hatters fans, took the last step of his career.

He competed as a player -assisting manager, but instead found work with his brother’s ownership business after the pandemic.

Kissock, who remains an Everton fan, added Planetfootball: “I have never been a bitter person and had some great experiences.

“It never happened to me at Everton, but I don’t have a bad word to say there.”