England watch - James Vaughan
Vaughan has had more chances this season
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Wednesday, 20, Sep 2006 05:17
Steve McClaren's England era has begun with aplomb thanks largely to the prolific goalscoring antics of Peter Crouch. Yet his critics are still in existence and the attacking options at McClaren's disposal remain a hot topic of debate.
Here we take a look at some of the promising young talents in the English game who could solve this issue, be it in Austria and Switzerland in two years' time or in South Africa in 2010. Sooner rather than later, we hope. Soho Square take note.
Fifth on the agenda is an Everton talent who has more than an outside chance of winning McClaren's attention.
Name: James Vaughan
Position: Forward
Club: Everton
Age at start of South Africa 2010: 22
As Steve McClaren searches high (Peter Crouch) and low (Jermaine Defoe) for an established strike partner for the prodigiously talented Wayne Rooney, there is one gifted 17-year-old at Goodison Park who may feel he is in with a shout.
Growing up in the West Midlands, James Vaughan was the fastest sprinter in his age group and was also an extremely talented rugby player. But football was his real passion, which may prove to be a huge blessing for England when the World Cup gets underway in South Africa in four years' time.
Everton spotted Vaughan playing in the Preston area and he was swiftly drafted into the club's academy. Increasingly excelling as he developed physically, he was eventually given his first taste of Premiership action against Crystal Palace on April 10th 2005.
Coming off the bench to the rapturous applause of the Goodison faithful, Vaughan showed impressive maturity and bullish strength and, at the tender age of 16 years and 271 days, scored a goal that cemented his name in the history books.
His strike with five minutes of the game remaining made him Everton's youngest-ever scorer, even beating that lad Rooney, as well as the Premiership's youngest-ever scorer, an honour previously held by James Milner.
Having already progressed through the international ranks, big things were expected of Vaughan in the 2005/06 season but his progress was severely stunted when he incurred a serious knee injury playing for the England under-19s.
Surgery appeared to have remedied the problem but two further setbacks convinced Everton's doctors to fly him over to America, where he was examined by world-renowned specialist Dr Richard Steadman. Dr Steadman found that Vaughan's knee was struggling to cope without some of the cartilage that had been removed in the operation performed soon after the original problem was diagnosed, and he also got rid of some scar tissue for good measure.
The prognosis was positive and Dr Steadman gave the all-clear for the young striker to resume pre-season training with Everton this year.
Vaughan picked up where he left off in his eagerly-anticipated return to action in August, when he scored in a reserve match against Newcastle. David Moyes has been understandably cautious, however, and is continuing to be patient with the 18-year-old after such a long time out of the game.
But indicative of the high regard in which he is held by those involved with the England setup, he has already gained a recall to the under-19 squad, in advance of a tournament in Austria during October.
Vaughan's knee injury has undoubtedly set him back a long way, with close friend Victor Anichebe moving ahead of him in the Goodison pecking order during his absence. With free-scoring Andrew Johnson also signed by the club during Vaughan's time on the sidelines, competition for a place in Everton's starting line-up is certainly stiffer than it was when Vaughan made his historic debut.
But with pace to burn, a predatory instinct and a character that appears only to have been strengthened by his injury, the powerful forward certainly has a big future ahead of him. He'll now be looking to make the most of any first-team opportunities he is granted, hoping to develop into the perfect international foil for former-Everton man Rooney.
Paul Foster
England's 2010 World Cup squad
*Players in bold - tickets to South Africa booked already
Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson
Possibles: Chris Kirkland, Ben Foster, Rob Green, Scott Carson
Defenders
John Terry, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher
Possibles: Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Anton Ferdinand, Leighton Baines, Justin Hoyte, Curtis Davies, Wes Brown, Phil Bardsley, Michael Mancienne
Midfielders
Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick
Possibles: Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Nigel Reo-Coker, Lee Cattermole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stewart Downing, Giles Barnes, James Morrison, Kieran Richardson
Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen
Possibles: David Nugent, Theo Walcott, James Vaughan, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Dean Ashton, Cameron Jerome