Bolton Wanderers target James Vaughan as Huddersfield Town danger man

Dougie Freedman has identified his former Crystal Palace striker James Vaughan as Huddersfield’s chief threat to Wanderers tonight.

Like his opposite number Mark Robins, who is praying his ex-forward Jermaine Beckford will not come back to haunt him, Freedman is hoping the Whites defence can silence in-form Vaughan after he netted his 12th goal of the season on Saturday as the Terriers shocked then league leaders Burnley.

And he revealed his inside knowledge of the former Everton forward he worked with at Selhurst Park shortly after taking the manager’s post in January 2011 has helped draft a plan of action for tonight’s game.

Freedman said: “Vaughany is a good player and has done very well this season.

“I had him when I first took over at Palace and he helped us in a relegation battle.

“He did very well and I have kept a close eye on his career.

“He is certainly capable of scoring goals at this level. He is a good, old-fashioned centre- forward and we have to be on our toes.

“I know his game so we did a lot of work on Vaughany in yesterday’s session and in the video room, looking at what runs he makes because he is one of the key players for them.”

Freedman knows the danger Vaughan poses but is also mindful of paying attention to his team-mates who arrive in Lancashire in search of a third straight win.

The Scot says his side will have to be at their best to get all three points.

He added: “They play with a certain style and are very flexible from three at the back to four at the back.

“They have good legs and energy in the middle of the park and we need to get on top of that.

“They also have the capability with Pats (Martin Paterson) and Vaughany up front to get goals.

“They have a good balance and the manager has done well there. I think he’s turning them into a confident Championship team rather than looking over their shoulder at relegation.

“You have to nullify what they have before we can take advantage of any deficiencies.

“We have to be really on top of our game tonight.”

Source

This interview worries me a little. Yes by all means acknowledge the potential danger Vaughan is but it sounds as if all our plans involve sitting back and neutralising one man. We're at HOME for God's sake; surely we should be looking to attack this mob from the off thus giving them no chance to bring Vaughan into it. I hope we don't see us playing defensive football the way we play when away from home. It has it's place but not against Huddersfield at the Reebok. No offence to them but this is a real opportunity to play a nice entertaining style and bag three points in the process.

we will play exactly the way we play away from home. This is how Dougie wants it at the moment and fair play its worked to a certain extent, but as for entertainment i can't see too much to look forward to at the moment.

I suppose we can't have our cake and eat it, we need to win games and if that means defending a 1-0 lead at all costs then so be it, but we will come unstuck against the good sides in the Division.

Norpig wrote:we will play exactly the way we play away from home. This is how Dougie wants it at the moment and fair play its worked to a certain extent, but as for entertainment i can't see too much to look forward to at the moment.

I suppose we can't have our cake and eat it, we need to win games and if that means defending a 1-0 lead at all costs then so be it, but we will come unstuck against the good sides in the Division.

You may have a point there norpig. I just hope that when Dougie gets the chance to set up to attack and play some pass and move football he takes it. We won't get many opportunities for it and I agree that the result matters more than the style of play in general. That said, tonight at home to Huddersfield is a real chance to go for it and I think it would be a shame if we didn't take it through over caution.