Player of the Month
Wed 5th May 2004
Collins John is
Fulham's OPTA Player of the Month for April...
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Collins John was brought in as one for the future and
so few could have expected him to make as big an
impact as he has with the Whites. His debut came in
the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge back in March, but
by the end of April he is the highest ranked Fulham
player in the Opta Index.
"He's going to be a good player in the future. We're
not going to ask too much of him too soon and we know
that we'll need to protect him," said manager Chris
Coleman following his signing.
It was only his second appearance for the Whites where
he turned the game against Leicester, with a late
brace that clinched Fulham's first away win in the
league since October. His first start followed and so
did another brace against Blackburn. John has ended
the month averaging a goal every 64 minutes. His goals
came from half of all his efforts, while his shooting
accuracy betters that of Thierry Henry and Ruud van
Nistelrooy for the month.
As well as his finishing abilities, John has already
shown that he is adept at linking up play with his
team mates and got an assist for Luis Boa Morte's goal
against Blackburn. The Liberian born striker has
managed to find his colleagues with over
three-quarters of his passes - the best passing
accuracy for any Fulham player during April.
Behind John in the rankings for the past month is
another youngster, Moritz Volz. The German full-back
has enjoyed an impressive first season with the
Whites, having put in a string of consistent displays
for Chris Coleman's side. No Premiership player has
won more tackles than the former Arsenal man this
season and he showed his ball winning abilities again
last month winning 22 of the 28 challenges he made.
Following John and Volz in the rankings for April is
another of Fulham's most consistent performers of the
campaign. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been the
highest ranked player of the month of five previous
occasions this season and once again he has scored
well. The Dutchman has made more saves than any other
Premiership 'keeper this term and managed to keep four
clean sheets in the five games Fulham played during
April.
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