“Money can't buy what I had yesterday,” said proud dad Jason Dozzell, having seen his son Andre follow in his footsteps by scoring on his Town debut aged only 16 in the 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, although as he is keen to point out when 293 days older.
Jason, still the youngest scorer in the top flight, netted on his debut having come on as a substitute aged only 16 years and 57 days as the Blues beat Coventry 3-1 at home in the old First Division in February 1984, while Andre made his goalscoring bow aged 16 years and 350 days, also having come off the bench.
"I’m very proud, obviously,” Jason told TWTD. "I was in with the fans behind the goal, I’ve not been as a fan since I was about 12 or 13, apart from going to Wembley for the play-off final and to go as a fan again was great.
"I didn’t realise he would come on at half-time, I thought he might get 10 minutes towards the end.
"I realised at half-time that he was going to come on when he wasn’t warming up with the other guys and was going to get a whole half. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Jason, 48, doesn’t recall too much about Andre’s 71st minute goal, a flicked header from a Liam Feeney cross.
"I didn’t see him run away, I was going ballistic!” he said. "I just can’t remember what I was doing. I didn’t see his celebration, but I heard it wasn’t very good, but there you go.
"It brought it all back. What are the odds on him repeating what I did? A little bit later, but we were both 16 still. An incredible story.”
Jason with Frans Thijssen at Town’s recent Ex-Players' Dinner
Which of the two was the better goal? "Mine, one hundred per cent!” he laughed. "No, I’ll leave that up to other people, I don’t want in a competition against my son. I do know whose was better but I’m not saying!”
Having made his first appearance, Jason anticipates Andre being in and around the first-team squad for the remaining four games of the campaign.
"He’s got to be managed right, it’s still a long shot for him to be regular, but I’ll leave that to Mick and the coaching staff, and I trust them to do that.
"What it will do now is mean he’ll be around the first-team picture, not necessarily starting, but he will just be around training every day for the rest of the season, I imagine, which will only be good for him.
"Maybe next season he can make 20 appearances, something like that, he’ll still only be 17. He’s got loads of time still in which to knuckle down and to realise what’s needed for really top flight football.”
The likes of Jason’s former club Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool are already keeping a close eye on Andre’s progress but Dozzell senior says there’s no need for any rush to get into the Premier League, despite the immediate riches such a move would bring.
"Money can't buy what I had yesterday, money can’t buy that, with the crowd as well. Money can’t buy that at all,” he said.
"The money side will take care of itself, he’s just enjoying his football and he’s playing well.”
DÉJÀ VU
Jason Dozzell scored on debut aged 16 for @Official_ITFC 32 yrs ago. Today, his son Andre did the same! https://t.co/rRgB9cCte5– Football On 5 (@FootballOn5) April 16, 2016
Jason says he didn’t see Andre, a first-year scholar who has agreed a two-year pro deal which will be formalised on his 17th birthday on May 2nd, after the match but is meeting up with him today and will be making sure his son’s feet are still firmly planted on the ground.
"I didn’t get to see him last night, I’m going to see him this afternoon, just to bring him back down to earth,” he said.
"If he gets a bit lairy, I’ll just say, ‘I’d played 50 times before you made your debut, son!’. If he gets lairy, that’s what’s coming out.”