PLAYER PROFILES
James Vaughan
| Squad number | 22 |
| Position | Striker |
| Turned Pro | July 2005 |
| Joined from | Youth Academy |
| Signed by | David Moyes |
| Transfer fee | None |
| Debut as sub | v Crystal
Palace (H) 10 April 2005 |
| Full debut | v
Arsenal.(H) 18 March 2007 |
| Contract duration | 4 years |
| Contract expires | June 2009 |
| Born | Birmingham |
| Date of birth | 14 July 1988 |
| Height | 5' 11" |
| Nickname(s) | Norman |
| Honours | England U-17, U-19 Youngest Premiership Goalscorer |
| STRENGTHS |
| Scores for fun in the Academy |
| Precocious |
| WEAKNESSES |
| That injured knee? |
| Youth |
Having worked his way up through the Everton ranks, like many before him,
16-year-old James Vaughan must have got a huge rush knowing he would be on
the bench for one Everton's biggest games of the 2004-05 season — an FA Cup 5th Round
tie at home to Manchester
United.
And although his manager opted to bring on two defenders and accept the
inevitable at Old Trafford and then left Vaughan warming the bench the following week at Aston Villa, another chance for his record debut
came the following weekend against Crystal Palace.
With 15 minutes to go in that game, David Moyes finally
found the moment to bring on Vaughan for his senior debut. At the
tender age of 16 years & 271 days, he became the youngest Everton player
ever, beating Joe Royle's debut age by 11 days.
And what a way to celebrate the occasion: scoring a debut goal that made
him the Youngest Ever Everton Goalscorer, and the Youngest Ever Premiership
Goalscorer.
Vaughan could not sign a professional
contract until after his 17th birthday in July 2005 but after fruitful
negotiations with Everton, Vaughan was signed on to a four-year deal that
would hopefully see him consolidate his place on the highest rung of
English football.
Things did not go well for James the following season, however, with just
one sub appearance (v Fulham) after
which he
sustained a serious knee injury while playing with the England U-19s in
September 2005. Knee surgery was required, and the long recovery
process began.
The path to recovery was long and problematic, with the knee breaking down
not once but twice before he was finally dispatched to Dr Richard
Steadman's world-renowned Colorado clinic in April 2006. His recovery was reported to
be 'progressing' with hopes that he might figure in Everton's pre-season
training programme come July 2006.
Vaughan finally reappeared in November 2006, partly because David Moyes
ran out of options, due to injuries. Commenting on Vaughan's injury
woes, Moyes said "It's been a slow process for James. He's been doing
extra sessions, and he's probably just a bit too brave for his own good
sometimes. I'm not too sure whether he'd have made the 16 for the [West Ham] match had
we not had those injuries, but he deserves his moment." And he took
it well, firing low and hard through keeper Robert Green to confirm
Everton's win in well into stoppage time.
Progress for Vaughan was slow, however, and long periods went by without
him playing any part despite the failure of James Beattie to hit the net, and
with Andy Johnson going through a number of barren spells. So it was that
nearly two years had elapsed from Vaughan's initial appearance as a sub at
senior level before he was given a starting berth — in a massive game
against Arsenal which the Blues won thanks to an injury-time goal by Johnson.
James's emergence from the Everton Academy coincided with that of Victor Anichebe but many have regarded Vaughan as the better all-round striker. That would appear to be supported by the fact that he had the greater impact at a younger age but those long-term injuries enabled Anichebe to stake his own claim at Goodison, particularly in the first half of the 2007-08 season when he scored some crucial goals in the Blues' Uefa Cup campaign.
Vaughan, however, has proved deadly when fit and given a chance, as evidenced by his own Uefa Cup, the winning goal in a 3-2 victory against AZ Alkmaar in December 2007 that condemned the Dutch side to their first defeat on home soil in European competition for 32 years.
He has good aerial ability, terrific pace, a devastating eye for goal, excellent strength to hold off defenders, and a never-say-die attitude that makes him an exciting player to watch. He recently earned his promotion to the England U-21 squad.
But sheer enthusiasm, all too often misplaced in overly exuberant play, proved his downfall again. In early March 2008 his knee locked up in training and Vaughan was sent off to knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman for an operation to fix the problem, which kept him out until August.
He recovered from that in time for the US tour of 2008, and came on as a sub in the first game (Chicago Fire) only to get dismissed for a silly tackle with 2 mins to go. There was talk that he would be suspended for the start of the season and David Moyes was apparently furious with him.
By and
Last updated September 2008
| Everton Career | |||||||
| Season |
Squad Number |
League Apps (sub) |
League Goals |
Cup Apps (sub) |
Cup Goals |
Total Apps (sub) |
Total Goals |
| 2004-05 | 31 |
0 (2) |
1 |
0 (0) |
0 |
0 (2) |
1 |
| 2005-06 | 29 |
0 (1) |
0 |
0 (0) |
0 |
0 (1) |
0 |
| 2006-07 | 22 | 7 (7) | 4 | 0 (1) | 0 | 7 (8) | 4 |
| 2007-08 | 14 | 0 (8) | 1 | 1 (4) | 1 | 1 (12) | 2 |
| 2008-09 | 14 | 1 (12) | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 2 (15) | 0 |
| Totals | 8 (30) | 6 | 2 (8) | 1 | 10 (38) | 7 | |
Note: Everton Career Stats on ToffeeWeb are updated after every game.
| Everton Academy and Reserves Record | |||
| Season | Team | Appearances (sub) | Goals |
| 2003-04 | U-17s | 1 (22) | 3 |
| 2004-05 | U-18s, YC & Res | 7 (6), 3( 0) & 16 (2) | 4, 1 & 7 |
| 2005-06 | Reserves | 2 (0) | 0 |
| 2006-07 | Reserves | 9 (0) | 3 |





