Upon his arrival from Norwich on loan in late August he was instantly labelled 'sicknote', it was to be expected that his previous injury record would be used against him. Watching him in action it was immediately obvious why he'd picked up more knocks than your average centre forward. Lung-bursting runs across the width of the pitch to harass defenders, physical aerial duels with giant centre backs, and putting his body on the line at every opportunity are all vital parts of his game.
It was therefore certainly a gamble that we took when bringing him in on loan for the rest of the season. Had he picked up a serious injury early on we'd have still had to pay his wages to the end of the season, and one would hazard a guess that his wages were significant for a club of our size. After a few early scares however his fitness wasn't a problem at all - there was always an underlying fear when watching him play that he'd get injured but nothing ever materialised, and long may that stay the same!
Vaughan's impact last season cannot be underplayed in any way - we would have been relegated long before his goal on the last day of the season without him. His contribution was much more than goals though, he's an influential figure to both fans and teammates alike, and he offers immense work-rate mixed with genuine intelligence. He covers a ridiculous amount of grass during 90 minutes, but he does so for a reason - whether it be closing down defenders, offering an outlet when we're under pressure, or creating space for fellow attackers, his movement off the ball is outstanding and much needed.
Indeed his impact was evident from the very beginning. In our opening 10 games last season, six featured James Vaughan. We were unbeaten in those six games, amassing 16 points from a possible 18 while in the games he didn't play we didn't win once, taking a single point from a possible 12. That trend continued, albeit to a lesser extent as we went on a torrid run with Simon Grayson losing the plot completely, throughout the season. With Vaughan on the pitch we were a much better team because he's the focal point of everything good that we do.
He was always going to be a success at Town, it seemed inevitable from the beginning as fans took an instant like to the former Everton player who is the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer. He constantly showed an immense appreciation for the support he received from fans, with celebrations in front of supporters like after the Burnley game at Turf Moor going a long way to cementing his 'cult hero' status. Perhaps the final tipping point for him becoming a true hero was his late winner at Elland Road and the epic celebration that followed, beating them meant just as much to him as it did to us!
It's difficult to say whether signing Vaughan will result in further season card sales, or whether shirts with 'VAUGHAN - 9' on the back will start flying off the shelves, but one thing it will do is create a huge buzz among the fans and playing staff. Everyone knew that this was the deal that needed to happen, everyone knew how important he was to us last season and how important he would be to us if we managed to secure his signature. Well he's here, he's a Huddersfield Town player for the next three seasons at least, and our prospects for the coming season are much greater for it.
It's a shame that we won't get to see Jermaine Beckford alongside Vaughan again, but the signings of Stead and Paterson mean we have more quality up front than we did last season. Between the three of them, and a loan addition that I feel will be added, we have more than enough firepower to make a real impact this season. I'm not going to say that we will be challenging at the top end of the table because the league is even more competitive this season that it was last season, but I certainly don't expect us to struggle again.
A final congratulations has to go to Dean Hoyle, Nigel Clibbens, Ross Wilson and Mark Robins for making Vaughan at home during his spell on loan last season, and doing what was necessary to secure his signature. We've got a great infrastructure at the club now and this signing, and also the signing of Paterson who turned down 'bigger' clubs to sign for Town, shows that we can attract top drawer players to Leeds Road. Plenty doubted whether or not we could bring Vaughan here permanently, but we have and for that we must be grateful to the people who are in charge at the club.
One last thing, corner flags everywhere beware because... Vaughan will tear you apart again!
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