A fairy tale turned into a nightmare for James Vaughan

Fairy tales don`t exist in football. Leicester City winning the Premier League was not a fairy tale, it was an achievement made possible due to hard work, talent and belief. Blues winning the League Cup in the last minute was not a fairy tale either. It was a concoction of determination, ability and good fortune.

So, when James Vaughan rocked up at his boyhood club at the age of 27, many Blues fans thought a fairy tale was beginning to unravel. Here was this football player with proven ability. After reoccurring injuries and bad luck, he was a player in desperate need of reigniting his career.

Once upon a time, football had high hopes for James Vaughan. His record as the youngest ever goal scorer in the Premier League, aged 16 years and 271 days, still stands. That day, back in April 2005, when Vaughan came on as a substitute before scoring for Everton against Crystal Palace, he was a boy dreaming of massive things.

After that goal, loan spells at Derby County, Leicester City and Crystal Palace were seen as a way to aid Vaughan`s development. But after breaking through into Everton`s first team, he only managed a further eight goals in 60 appearances.

After being plagued by the injuries that have so far dictated his career, Vaughan signed a permanent deal with Norwich City. After making his debut against West Bromwich Albion, Vaughan found himself a regular in the treatment room and made just six appearances.

A loan spell at Huddersfield Town followed and it was at that point Vaughan`s hopes returned. After scoring 14 goals in 37 games, The Terriers made the move a permanent one. Vaughan put pen-to-paper on a three year deal.

Again, injuries hit and Vaughan made 26 appearances in his first season as a permanent player at Huddersfield and followed it up with 28 the following season. But after yet another injury, Vaughan struggled to force his way back into the first team fold at the John Smith`s Stadium and was loaned to Blues in November of last year.

A Birmingham born, Blues supporter, in need of a new challenge to kick start his career, ends up playing for his boyhood club. Surely, this would only have a happy ending?

After making his debut in a 2-1 defeat at Brighton, Vaughan couldn`t force his way into the first team. There was a belief that, with a full pre-season of training under his belt, Vaughan could be an asset to Blues. So Gary Rowett decided to make the deal permanent at the end of the loan agreement.

That permanent deal kicked in from June this year. But despite scoring in pre-season, Vaughan couldn`t shake off the niggling injuries and made only one appearance this season, against Oxford United in the EFL Cup.


When Vaughan was fit and firing, he looked a threat. In the final game of last season at Cardiff City, he came on and was a handful, doing everything apart from scoring. But having a header cleared off the line and thumping a one-on-one against the cross bar, added to his previous penalty miss in the FA Cup against Bournemouth, resulted in Vaughan departing St. Andrews having never scored a competitive goal for the club he supported as a child.

What should have been a fairy tale ending turned into more heartbreak for a player who has never had the footballing Gods on his side.

So Vaughan now takes on a different challenge at Bury. He leaves the second city with the best wishes from everyone connected with Birmingham City. Sorry it didn`t work out for you, James. Keep Right On!