Injury curtailed Saints stalwart Jason Dodd’s Albion swansong

INJURY deprived Albion of the services of the experienced former Southampton captain Jason Dodd throughout the 2005-06 season.

After completing 499 games for Saints, Dodd had originally intended to retire at the end of the 2004-05 season having been sidelined by boss Harry Redknapp to such an extent that he’d gone out on loan to Plymouth Argyle.

However, Brighton were missing the long-term injured Adam Hinshelwood and manager Mark McGhee gave the 34-year-old Dodd a season-long deal at the Albion.

Dodd slotted in at right-back for the opening five fixtures of the season but then had to have surgery on a troublesome ankle injury which put him out of action for two months.

He returned to first team action at the end of November but was then struck by a mystery back injury that was severely debilitating, as he told The Argus.

“They cannot really pinpoint what the problem is and it isn’t just not being able to train,” he told the paper. “I am in constant pain 24-seven so, from my point of view, it’s not just at work it’s when I go home. I can’t pick the kids up or go for a walk with the dog.”

Unfortunately, he managed just two more games in a season when Albion finished bottom of the Championship table. One fond memory I have of his contribution to Albion’s cause came in a game at QPR in March 2006.

The game was memorable for the sending off just after half time of Rangers’ skipper and long-serving striker Kevin Gallen for punching Paul McShane. Sadly, Albion only managed to take a point when they really needed three, but it was their first away point for nine games, so it was a triumph of sorts.

QPR full back Marcus Bignot put a deep Gary Hart cross through his own net under pressure from substitute Joe Gatting to equalise Gareth Ainsworth’s early header for Rangers.

The tricky Ainsworth gave Adam El-Abd, playing in an unfamiliar left back role, such a torrid time that McGhee switched the fullbacks with half-an-hour played and put Adam Hinshelwood there instead. Shortly after half time, McGhee switched it again and Dodd replaced El-Abd.

In the 40 minutes, or so, he was on the pitch he showed what we had missed by providing an outlet for some neat passing, and hardly ever gave the ball away.

Born in Bath on 2 November 1970, Dodd began his distinguished career by signing for his home town club, non-league Bath City. In 1989, Southampton paid £15,000 to take the 18-year-old to The Dell.

He certainly couldn’t have got off to a better start, making his first team debut at home to Liverpool, marking England international John Barnes.

Londonsaints.com was fulsome in its praise for the impact he made, declaring: “Not only did he completely snuff out the efforts of the England winger but found enough time to supply a perfect cross for Paul Rideout’s opening goal in a momentous 4-1 win.”

From that encouraging beginning, he went on to establish himself as Saints’ regular right back, playing under nine different managers and captaining the side. Dodd remained a fixture in a team that more often than not found itself fighting for survival in the top flight.

Between 1990 and 1991, he won eight England under-21 caps, making his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Poland at White Hart Lane on 16 October 1990 and playing his last game against the same opponent, away in Pila, on 11 November 1991, when England lost 2-1, their goal being scored by Paul Kitson, who later played for Brighton.

In his fifth under 21 game, Dodd was sent off as England trounced Mexico 6-0, when, as well as a goal for Kitson, Alan Shearer scored a hat-trick (including two penalties).

Although Dodd had been involved in earlier rounds of the FA Cup in 2003, injury meant he missed out on the final, when Saints lost to Arsenal.

At the end of his injury-plagued season with Brighton, Dodd joined his former Saints teammate Francis Benali as a coach at non-league Eastleigh before stepping into the manager’s role for seven months.

The lure of his old club was too great, though, and, in the summer of 2007, he became first team coach at Southampton under George Burley. He was briefly caretaker manager before leaving Saints in July 2008, had a short tenure as caretaker manager at Aldershot in the autumn of 2009, and then returned once again to Southampton as a development coach and under 18s coach at St Mary’s.

During his five years with the Saints youth academy, working with former teammate Paul Williams, together they brought through the likes of Luke Shaw, Callum Chambers and James Ward-Prowse.

But they were controversially let go in May 2014 – some reports said it was because they didn’t spend enough time with the younger age groups.

Shaw took to Twitter when news of their dismissal was announced saying he was “gutted” for them.

Dodd obviously keeps a close eye on the progress of the young players he was once responsible for and, when Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho subbed Shaw at half-time during United’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Brighton in 2018, the BBC sought Dodd’s opinion. He admitted a tough love approach was the way to get the best out of him.

“He does make you pull your hair out at times. You have to try different things to get the best out of him,” said Dodd. ”I think they have tried everything and they have not got through to him to get him out on the pitch and perform.

“Luke is one of those players where you have to keep on, you have to keep pushing him and he needs to be challenged.

“I was constantly on him. He likes it. He needs more of a cuddle, and then give him a little dig,” Dodd added.

The Saints stalwart is frequently asked his views on current happenings, but his day job is as head of football in the PE department of independent school, Winchester College. He has a few other sidelines on the go, as he told the Daily Echo earlier this year.