Jason Dozzell
Encyclopedia
Jason Irvin Winans Dozzell (born 9 December 1967) is an English
former professional association footballer who made more than 500 Football League
appearances for Ipswich Town
, Tottenham Hotspur
, Northampton Town
and Colchester United
. Dozzell holds the record for being the youngest goalscorer in the England's top division
after scoring for Ipswich Town
against Coventry City in a First Division
match on February 4, 1984 at the age of 16 years and 57 days (the youngest goalscorer since the formation of the Premier League is Everton's
James Vaughan, aged 16 years 270 days).
Dozzell has also managed two non-league football
clubs, both in the Eastern Counties Football League
—Ipswich Wanderers
and Leiston
. As of October 2008, he is not managing a club.
, Suffolk
, in 1967, Dozzell attended the local Chantry High School. He has supported local charities, including acting as a patron for "Operation Santa Claus", run in conjunction with radio station SGR-FM
. He played for a "Town Legends" side against a Soccer AM
team in 2005 to raise money for the Academy, where his son, Andre, was in the under-10s team. In 2007 he was found guilty of driving with excess alcohol and was banned for three years.
by Bobby Robson
despite interest from West Ham United
and Nottingham Forest
. Selected for the senior squad by manager Bobby Ferguson, Dozzell made his debut for Ipswich Town in February 1984, coming on as a substitute against Coventry City
. Ipswich won the match 2–0; Dozzell scored late in the second half, becoming the youngest player, at 16 years and 57 days, to score in the old English Football League First Division
. He went on to make four further appearances in the 1983–84 season
. The following season
Dozzell made twenty appearances, five of them from the bench, and scored four goals. In the 1985–86 season
he became a regular starter for Ipswich, scoring five goals in 51 games, although the club were relegated to the Football League Second Division
. His 1986–87 season
saw him play in every game, making 42 league and 11 cup appearances and scoring a single goal. He was also selected for the England under-21 team
, for whom he played nine times without scoring.
In the 1988–89 season
, Dozzell finished as the club's joint top-scorer (with John Wark
and Dalian Atkinson
), scoring 13 goals from 37 appearances. The following two seasons saw Dozzell as a regular starter for the team, with 18 goals from 88 appearances. His 16 goals in the 1991–92 season
helped John Lyall
's Ipswich win the league title and secure promotion to the newly-formed Premier League. He featured regularly the following season, scoring nine goals in 52 games and helping the club stave off relegation in their first season back in the top tier of English football.
In August 1993, Dozzell was sold to Tottenham Hotspur
for £1.9m; in his first season, he made 32 appearances and scored eight goals. Dozzell suffered numerous injuries during his time at White Hart Lane
, restricting the number of games in which he played. In the 1994–95 season, he managed just seven appearances and failed to score. He made a total of 99 league and cup appearances and scored 14 goals over his four seasons at the club. Dozzell made a brief return to Portman Road in 1997, on loan for a month, and made ten appearances before signing for Northampton Town
in 1997. A season with The Cobblers saw him score four goals from 26 appearances and help the club to the play-off
final at Wembley Stadium. This was followed by a move to newly promoted Colchester United
, initially on a monthly contract, where Dozzell made more than 100 appearances and scored 11 goals in three seasons.
Dozzell retired from professional football in 2001 as a result of persistent injuries, in particular an ongoing toe problem. However, he continued playing with non-league
clubs; a brief spell with Canvey Island
reunited him with former Colchester and Ipswich player Neil Gregory
. Canvey Island released him and he moved on to an even shorter stay with Grays Athletic
, who signed him alongside Carl Leaburn
. This was followed by a move back to Ipswich and into management.
club Ipswich Wanderers
in 2003. In his role as player-manager, he moved to play in defence and secured an eighth place finish in the league during his first season with the club. The following season, he led them to the league title and promotion to the Eastern Counties League
Premier Division. The 2005–06 season saw Dozzell lead the newly promoted club to seventh in the league, but despite ending the season with a record tally of points, he left the Wanderers, citing off-pitch issues at the club.
Dozzell went on to manage Leiston
, but despite signing a contract which would have kept him at the club until the summer of 2008, he left in November 2007. As of October 2008, Dozzell is unattached, although bookmakers had offered reasonable odds on him becoming Colchester United manager following the departure of his former Ipswich team-mate Geraint Williams
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
former professional association footballer who made more than 500 Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
appearances for Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
and Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
. Dozzell holds the record for being the youngest goalscorer in the England's top division
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...
after scoring for Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
against Coventry City in a First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
match on February 4, 1984 at the age of 16 years and 57 days (the youngest goalscorer since the formation of the Premier League is Everton's
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
James Vaughan, aged 16 years 270 days).
Dozzell has also managed two non-league football
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
clubs, both in the Eastern Counties Football League
Eastern Counties Football League
The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of the Isthmian League and Southern...
—Ipswich Wanderers
Ipswich Wanderers F.C.
Ipswich Wanderers F.C. is an English football club based in Ipswich. They are currently members of Eastern Counties League Division One and play at Humber Doucy Lane in Rushmere. -History:...
and Leiston
Leiston F.C.
Leiston F.C. is an English football club based in Leiston, Suffolk. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Division One North and play at Victory Road.-History:...
. As of October 2008, he is not managing a club.
Personal life
Born in IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, in 1967, Dozzell attended the local Chantry High School. He has supported local charities, including acting as a patron for "Operation Santa Claus", run in conjunction with radio station SGR-FM
SGR-FM
Heart Ipswich was a radio station that evolved from Suffolk Group Radio, which was the parent company for two Independent Local Radio stations serving the county of Suffolk in England. The older of the radio stations was Radio Orwell, which began transmissions in Ipswich on 28 October 1975 on 257m...
. He played for a "Town Legends" side against a Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
team in 2005 to raise money for the Academy, where his son, Andre, was in the under-10s team. In 2007 he was found guilty of driving with excess alcohol and was banned for three years.
Playing career
Playing football for the Langham Lions in the Colchester Youth League, Dozzell was noted as a "prolific schoolboy scorer", and was signed on schoolboy terms for Ipswich TownIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
by Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
despite interest from West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
and Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
. Selected for the senior squad by manager Bobby Ferguson, Dozzell made his debut for Ipswich Town in February 1984, coming on as a substitute against Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
. Ipswich won the match 2–0; Dozzell scored late in the second half, becoming the youngest player, at 16 years and 57 days, to score in the old English Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
. He went on to make four further appearances in the 1983–84 season
The Football League 1983-84
-Overview:The 1983–1984 season was the 84th completed season of The Football League.- First Division:Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history. They overcame strong competition from...
. The following season
The Football League 1984-85
-Overview:The 1984–1985 season was the 85th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Howard Kendall’s Everton side beat neighbours Liverpool to the league championship, while Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United followed closely behind...
Dozzell made twenty appearances, five of them from the bench, and scored four goals. In the 1985–86 season
The Football League 1985-86
-Overview:The 1985–1986 season was the 86th completed season of the The Football League.-Final league tables and results :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at the website, with home and away statistics separated.Re-election: During the first five seasons...
he became a regular starter for Ipswich, scoring five goals in 51 games, although the club were relegated to the Football League Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. His 1986–87 season
The Football League 1986-87
-Overview:The 1986–1987 season was the 87th completed season of the The Football League.-Innovations for this season:Playoffs to determine promotion places were introduced in 1987 so that more clubs remained eligible for promotion closer to the end of the season, and at the same time to aid in the...
saw him play in every game, making 42 league and 11 cup appearances and scoring a single goal. He was also selected for the England under-21 team
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
, for whom he played nine times without scoring.
In the 1988–89 season
The Football League 1988-89
The 1988–1989 season was the 89th completed season of the Football League.No European qualification took place due to the Heysel Stadium disaster suspension in place....
, Dozzell finished as the club's joint top-scorer (with John Wark
John Wark
John Wark is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame...
and Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Atkinson
Dalian Robert Atkinson is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League and Premier League for Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Manchester City, in La Liga for Real Sociedad, in Ligue 1 for Metz, in the Turkish Super League for Fenerbahçe, in Saudi...
), scoring 13 goals from 37 appearances. The following two seasons saw Dozzell as a regular starter for the team, with 18 goals from 88 appearances. His 16 goals in the 1991–92 season
The Football League 1991-92
The 1991–1992 season was the 92nd completed season of The Football League.- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of players like Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David...
helped John Lyall
John Lyall
John Angus Lyall was an English footballer and manager of Scottish descent. His mother, Catherine, was from the Isle of Lewis, his father, James, was from Kirriemuir. He was born in Ilford, Essex.- Youth team career :...
's Ipswich win the league title and secure promotion to the newly-formed Premier League. He featured regularly the following season, scoring nine goals in 52 games and helping the club stave off relegation in their first season back in the top tier of English football.
In August 1993, Dozzell was sold to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
for £1.9m; in his first season, he made 32 appearances and scored eight goals. Dozzell suffered numerous injuries during his time at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
, restricting the number of games in which he played. In the 1994–95 season, he managed just seven appearances and failed to score. He made a total of 99 league and cup appearances and scored 14 goals over his four seasons at the club. Dozzell made a brief return to Portman Road in 1997, on loan for a month, and made ten appearances before signing for Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...
in 1997. A season with The Cobblers saw him score four goals from 26 appearances and help the club to the play-off
Football League Two play-offs
The Football League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches, contested by the teams finishing from 4th to 7th in the Football League Two table to determine the fourth promotion place to the third tier of English football, League One. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 7th playing...
final at Wembley Stadium. This was followed by a move to newly promoted Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
, initially on a monthly contract, where Dozzell made more than 100 appearances and scored 11 goals in three seasons.
Dozzell retired from professional football in 2001 as a result of persistent injuries, in particular an ongoing toe problem. However, he continued playing with non-league
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
clubs; a brief spell with Canvey Island
Canvey Island F.C.
Canvey Island F.C, known as the Gulls or Yellow Army, are an English football club founded in 1926 that play in the Isthmian League Premier Division....
reunited him with former Colchester and Ipswich player Neil Gregory
Neil Gregory
Neil Richard Gregory is an English professional football striker, who, until recently, has been playing for Canvey Island.Gregory began his career as an apprentice with Ipswich Town, turning professional in February 1992...
. Canvey Island released him and he moved on to an even shorter stay with Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic F.C.
Grays Athletic Football Club is an English football club currently based in Corringham, Essex after leaving the New Recreation Ground in Grays at the end of the 2009–10 season...
, who signed him alongside Carl Leaburn
Carl Leaburn
Carl Winston Leaburn is a former English football player who generally played as a striker.Born in nearby Lewisham, Leaburn progressed through the youth set-up at and made his debut in the late 1980s. He also played in the England Under 20's team under Graham Taylor...
. This was followed by a move back to Ipswich and into management.
Managerial career
Dozzell took his first step into management with Eastern Counties Football LeagueEastern Counties Football League
The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of the Isthmian League and Southern...
club Ipswich Wanderers
Ipswich Wanderers F.C.
Ipswich Wanderers F.C. is an English football club based in Ipswich. They are currently members of Eastern Counties League Division One and play at Humber Doucy Lane in Rushmere. -History:...
in 2003. In his role as player-manager, he moved to play in defence and secured an eighth place finish in the league during his first season with the club. The following season, he led them to the league title and promotion to the Eastern Counties League
Eastern Counties Football League
The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of the Isthmian League and Southern...
Premier Division. The 2005–06 season saw Dozzell lead the newly promoted club to seventh in the league, but despite ending the season with a record tally of points, he left the Wanderers, citing off-pitch issues at the club.
Dozzell went on to manage Leiston
Leiston F.C.
Leiston F.C. is an English football club based in Leiston, Suffolk. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Division One North and play at Victory Road.-History:...
, but despite signing a contract which would have kept him at the club until the summer of 2008, he left in November 2007. As of October 2008, Dozzell is unattached, although bookmakers had offered reasonable odds on him becoming Colchester United manager following the departure of his former Ipswich team-mate Geraint Williams
Geraint Williams
David Geraint Williams is a former professional footballer who also played for Wales. He has also managed Colchester United and Leyton Orient.- Career :...
.