New man at the Elm

Tuesday February 23, 2010

WHAT a difference a goal makes. Scoring his first strike for Fulham in the recent 3-0 demolition of Burnley has transformed lofty Swedish front man David Elm's world.

"Ah! It felt fantastic. It's always so good for a striker to get a first goal," he said, chatting to h&f news after a session with the physio at the club's Motspur Park training ground.

It's been a while coming - but only because of the sharp-shooting form of others.

Thanks to the exceptional season which Bobby Zamora is having, chances to prove himself have been few and far between for the 6ft 3in target man, who now hopes to get some regular outings in coming months.

David, 27, arrived at Craven Cottage in September, signed from the Swedish side Kalmar FF, who he assisted to a Swedish Super Cup triumph last year.

He was also pivotal in the team's successful 2008 Allsvenskan campaign when Kalmar FF won the Swedish league title for the first time in the club's history.

So how has he felt about warming the bench for so many months?

"We have many good players here, so it's been hard, but I'm working every day to try to get the chance," he said.

He has nothing but praise for Roy Hodgson's motivation and managerial skills - qualities which are especially appreciated in Sweden (Hodgson managed Malmo in the late 80s) and other parts of Scandinavia.

"He's been fantastic for me," said David, who lives with his fiancee down in leafy Dorking, mirroring his own love of Sweden's countryside where he lived as a boy.

"I knew him by reputation before I came here although I had never encountered him professionally. When the chance to play here came, I just took it; it was my dream to play in England."

David, who admits to a secret youthful passion for Manchester United - and especially the charismatic Eric Cantona - had only faced English sides twice before his move to London; and they were both summer friendlies against touring sides from Tottenham and West Ham when he played for his previous club, Falkenbergs.

In his early days he was a fixture in midfield. "I was a central midfielder before, but I was big and strong, and could keep the ball up, so at Falkenbergs I was first put up front," he said.

David wears 35 in the Fulham squad - but there's no significance to that. It was simply the next number to be allocated.

Of more interest is the fact that his previous number in Sweden was 13. "Yes, 13 is unlucky in Sweden just as it is here," he admitted. "But someone had to prove it's not unlucky."

His target at Fulham is to keep developing and working hard to earn a chance of a regular outing in the team. He says he is learning all the time from those around him.

"We have a lot of good players," he said. "I like playing with Erik [Nevland] and Bobby [Zamora]. They're really easy to play alongside. They're smart."

For David, who gained his Fulham debut against Manchester City in the Carling Cup in August as an extra-time sub, the lure of international competition at Fulham was a strong pull.

"It's fantastic for the club and for the fans to play international clubs," he said.

"Fulham is the biggest club I've played for and I'm really enjoying my time here." How, I wondered, was he coping with the English winter. He snorted in derision.

"I come from Sweden! It's relatively fine here, although I must admit I thought it would be warmer," he said. You sense that David's real chance may be just around the corner. Certainly Hodgson believes in him.

"He's a Bobby Zamora type of player, so as a result he's had to understudy Bobby, but he got his chance against Bolton and did extremely well," he said.

"He worked hard, held the ball up well with his target play and his ability to keep possession was as good as anybody else in the team."