He was the boy wonder who held the record as the youngest scorer in England’s top division.
But ex-Ipswich and Spurs striker Jason Dozzell believes he fell “prisoner” to his 1984 strike for the Tractor Boys against Coventry.
He was just 16 years and 57 days when he came off the bench to hit the headlines. He went on to become a key player for Ipswich while he was still a teenager before a glamour Premier League move to Spurs in 1993. But Dozzell also succumbed to football’s drinking culture as a 16 year old – and gambling not long after.
Now working for the Ipswich Town foundation, his autobiography – Follow The Thunder – has been released, warning teenagers of the perils of enjoying too much too soon.
“I had loads of complex issues growing up,” he said. “But I made it and I was just left to get on with it. Money and all that kind of thing came into play and I didn’t have the tools to handle all the pressure.
“Everyone talks about the goal which I’m very proud of. But I just felt like a prisoner to it. You see the young kids even now, coming into the first teams at 16. Then you don’t see him again.
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Daily Mirror)
“Yes I had a career but it wasn’t a normal situation, playing at school, going back to school, having so much money and then being taken out of school completely.”
Dozzell regrets his removal from school permanently by his coaches before his exams “There was no one in my life, personally or professionally, saying it might be a good idea to get some qualifications.”
Now he supports his son Andre and other rising stars his age to understand the value of education and the need to be patient.
As a 16-year-old in 1983, Dozzell would pick up “this fat envelope stacked with as much as £1500” while other kids his age would pick up just £100.
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Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)
“It changes you,” he went on. “I was a young boy going out with the older players and because I was very shy and insecure, I felt like I had to drink to fit in.
“With the gambling – again, it was fitting in being one of the boys. Gambling was everywhere at that time.”
The wheels came off later in his career as injury and poor mental health saw Dozzell leave Spurs and tumble down the leagues after a brief return to Ipswich. He is now a coach for the East Anglian club’s Post-16 programme and tours the country educating young players.
“There were no academies back then but they give you structure in your life. I’d train two hours a week as a kid and the rest was just messing about.
“Even since the book launch, I’ve had close friends come up to me saying words I’d thought I’d hear: I’ve tried to kill myself. “There were 200 people at the launch. Six of them have written to me already admitting they’ve struggled. So I have a little platform and I intend to keep using it.”
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