Collins John is raring to go
after his first taste of first team football...
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There might not have been too much to get excited
about in the defeat to Chelsea two weeks ago, but the
debut of young Dutch starlet Collins John will have
given the Fulham faithful a tantalizing glimpse of
things to come.
Just recovered from an ankle injury and clearly not
yet attuned to the pace of the Premiership, the
striker showed enough of his qualities to give a very
strong hint at what promises to be a glittering
future.
A slight hamstring strain picked up in training last
week put a temporary hold on John's First Team
progression and also denied him another Dutch U19 cap,
but time is on his side and the eighteen-year-old is
confident that he will score plenty of goals for
Fulham in the seasons to come.
"I picked up the injury in training last Thursday,"
John said, speaking at Motspur Park this week. "Sean
Davis gave me a long ball that was a little bit too
far in front of me - I stretched for it and picked up
a slight strain in my hamstring. I won't be out for
too long - I should be back in training on Monday and
then hopefully be available for selection against
Leicester.
"I hope very much that I can get back into the squad
quickly. I came from Holland to play for Fulham and
I'll be working hard from Monday to try and get a
place. I just want to play; that's why I came to
England because I love the football over here.
"I'd like to be available for Birmingham, but I've
been told that it would be too much of a risk so
hopefully I'll be ready for the Leicester game."
John should have been with the Dutch U19's this week
for their match against Austria, and he revealed he
will be sorry not to meet up with his international
team mates for the first time since his move to Fulham.
"Ruud Gullit is the manager of the U19's now and he
called me up," he said. "It's a shame to miss this one
because I haven't played since November and all the
players are asking what it is like at Fulham and in
England so it would have been nice to see them.
"I have played a lot for the all the different Dutch
youth teams and for the U21's as well, and my scoring
record has been quite good - I've managed to score
quite a few goals, so I have ambitions to do well for
my country in the future."
If anybody ever thought that the supporters don't have
any influence over what goes on with the players, a
little time listening to John reflecting on his debut
game against Chelsea would soon change their minds.
"It was fantastic," John said. "The Fulham crowd were
chanting my name all the time, during the warm-up and
everything - it was very, very nice. It's different
from Holland - the atmosphere is so good. I think the
fans came up with three different songs for me - it
was amazing. It made me feel very happy that they were
doing that and I tried to give them something back - I
want to play for them and score goals.
"It was a much faster game than I am used to, but I
love it. I chose to play in England because I love the
football here, it's fast and hard and I love the
atmosphere as well.
"I'm still a young player and I know I've still got a
lot to learn but I know I can play football so I hope
I can adapt quickly. I will need games to get used to
it because it is different from Holland.
"When I sat on the bench for the first time, I said to
myself, "Wow, this is fast!" It's very physical as
well. In Holland you have time to take the ball and
turn and do something and then the other team will
press; here they press immediately. Against Chelsea,
Desailly and Terry were on you immediately.
"It's more technical in Holland, more positional. Here
it's faster, you have to work harder and there are
more long balls. There it all seems to be played in a
small area with not many crosses - here the ball is
always moving from one side of the pitch to the other
and up and down.
"When I came on against Chelsea I think there had only
been one shot at goal. Chris Coleman told me that if I
got any chances I should shoot - I had a chance and
tried to take it and it was only a little bit over in
the end.
"It gave me some confidence and some hope that I can
do well here. I scored for the reserves the other week
and that was good to score my first goal in a Fulham
shirt and I am very happy for that. Now I just want to
score for the First Team.
"You cannot say how many goals you will score, of
course. First I need to play some games, but I feel
good in England and I'm sure I will score goals. I'm
still young but I had a good scoring record in Holland
so I'm confident that I will."
John seems to have settled into life at Fulham
remarkably quickly. He was quick to praise both the
English and the Dutch connections for helping to make
his move so smooth.
"Everything here is good," he said. "The people here
and my team mates are all very nice. Zat Knight lives
in Wimbledon near me and I see him a lot, Barry Hayles
as well - they have helped me settle in London. I am
alone and young so it's very important that I have
people to turn to and they have all been very good to
me.
"Sometimes my Mum comes over - she is coming over next
week so I hope I can get fit and show her what I can
do.
"The Dutch players here have been important too. When
I spoke to Chris Coleman the day before I signed he
asked me if I wanted to speak to Edwin van der Sar and
I said "Of course!"
"We spoke for perhaps about an hour - about Fulham,
about the fans, about the stadium, everything. It was
very important to me.
"The first two weeks I was here, I was in a hotel in
Richmond - Bobby Petta was staying there as well, so
we spent a lot of time together and he was able to
tell me a great deal. But of course it's good to spend
time with Zat and Barry because they can teach me
about England."
And how does John see the future shaping up?
"I'll just take it one step at a time at the moment.
I've come here to play good football and enjoy myself
in England. My job is to score goals - I'll give
myself a few games to get used to the League and the
way everyone plays and then hopefully I'll start doing
that job."
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