Today (7th December 2018), John Marshall would have celebrated his 40th birthday. 23 years ago, he was a promising young footballer who featured prominently for England’s under-15 team. He honed his skills at the famous Lilleshall National Sports Centre for two years. Clubs were vying for his signature – such as Blackburn, Aston Villa, West Ham and Liverpool. But he decided to join Everton. The Blues were tracking his progress for 18 months and were pleased that he decided to join them. In June 1995, John returned home from holiday in Spain with his friends from Lilleshall. He was at home with his family, playing with his sister, and suddenly, he became very seriously ill. He was in intensive care for a few days but the doctors sadly couldn’t save him. He passed away on 3rd July 1995 – the day he was about to sign for Everton as an apprentice. He was just 16 years old.