ANDY caton is the son of former Arsenal, Oxford United, Charlton Athletic and Manchester City defender Tommy Caton.

He was just five-years-old when his dad died but looked like he would follow in his footballing shoes when he signed as a first-year scholar at Town during pre-season in 2004.

Caton had previously been a youth team player at the Southampton Centre of Excellence and was top scorer for Hellenic League outfit North Leigh the season before.

An impressive pre-season at the County Ground, scoring a debut first team goal in a friendly against Bristol Rovers, saw him handed a place on the substitutes bench for the season opener at just 16.

He seized the moment, coming off the bench to score a consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat at Wrexham and stayed on the fringes of things throughout the 2004/05 season.

He made his full debut in an LDV Vans Trophy win at Exeter in October before finally getting his full league debut on the last day of the season, in a 1-1 draw with Chesterfield.

Caton looked set for bigger things the following season but, after being handed a squad number, a cruciate ligament injury stopped his progress in September.

The young striker recovered quicker than was expected but, just two months after his December return, a car crash and a cracked skull pretty much ended his season.

Town extended his scholarship a couple of times in the hope he would return to the Caton of old but a series of other injuries saw him finally released late last month.