Serial goalscorer Cahill’s very good for Goodison

Dec 7 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

BACK in his homeland, Tim Cahill is as famed for being the face of Australia’s version of Weetabix as he is for his footballing exploits.

But to paraphrase the slogan for the breakfast cereal, Everton certainly know Cahill is good for them.

The 29-year-old was at his snaffling best when netting the dramatic late winner against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday night that secured David Moyes’s side top spot in Group A in the UEFA Cup and qualification to the last 32 in the competition with a game to spare

Cahill’s importance to the Goodison outfit has been underlined by six goals in nine games since his return from a long-term metatarsal injury.

Among that tally was an extra-time winner against Luton Town in the Carling Cup and a spectacular last-minute overhead kick equaliser at Chelsea last month.

Such a prodigious output has led Tim Howard comparing the attacking midfielder with former Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes.

But the goalkeeper is hopeful Everton are not becoming overly reliant on the Australian riding to their rescue.

“Tim’s goals are worth their weight in gold,” says Howard. “The way his ‘engine’ is and the way he pops up at the right time. It is almost as if we are too dependent on him.

“When things are not going well, you look for him to get in there and nick a goal. He does it time and time again, it is so nice to have him around even if we should not allow ourselves to be too dependent on him.

“Some players have a knack for getting goals from midfield positions, they sense where they ought to be. Some say it is luck, but he makes his own luck on the pitch.”

Howard is ideally placed to pass comment on the similarities between Cahill and Scholes, having played in the same team as the latter during three years at Old Trafford.

While Scholes has racked up 138 goals in 550 appearances during an illustrious career, Cahill has a similarly impressive strike-rate of 33 in 107 since arriving at Goodison in the summer of 2004.

“He’s very like Scholesy in that he has a knack of being able to score,” says Howard. “Scholesy is a bit crafty, whereas Tim likes to mix it up a bit more.

“He gets up in the air, while Scholesy has so many tricks. But those guys just have a knack for it. They sense where they need to be if they want to score. Six yards, 18 yards, it just doesn’t matter.”

Of Cahill’s goal on Wednesday, Howard adds: “Tim scored again, but that’s why he gets paid the big money! Seriously, though, he has done really well, great. He has returned from injury and he is now on fire.

“Long may it last. The thing about Tim is that he just knows where to be. He pops up when you need him and sticks in 10 a season for us, which is just great.”

The win over Zenit St Petersburg, the recently-crowned champions of Russia, means that Everton will now miss the Champions League drop-outs and are assured of a opponent from the sides that finish third in their groups.

Moyes will now “have a look at a few other players” for the trip to Holland to play AZ Alkmaar in on Thursday week, particularly given Everton visit Manchester United three days later.

Howard is one of a small group of Everton’s players to have reasonable experience in European competition.

But the goalkeeper believes the squad are learning with each game and have already shown they can be a force to be reckoned with in the competition.

“How far can we go? Who knows, this is all very new to the majority of the lads,” says Howard. “We sat in the dressing room afterwards and realised that we were top of a difficult group and now we avoid the Champions League drop-outs and get a team who has finished third in their group.

“But there are some pretty tough sides hovering around third place in the other groups so we will have to wait and see now how it pans out.

“But we know it will be tough. Out of the group stages things will get more difficult, but everyone is confident we can keep this European run going.

“European nights are special, they were special for me and Phil (Neville) at Manchester United and they are special here.

“That is why Yak came to Everton as well.

“He knew Europe was special and he wanted that from this club.

“I suppose we can help the other lads who have not been involved in Europe much before. It is more by how you act, you pass on experience by showing that big moments, big games, do not affect you.

“Phil is fantastic. I take his lead, he has more European experience than me and I have more than others so it is passed on like that.

“But we are learning as we go, learning on the run if you like. Games are tough and we have found different ways to learn and we are getting better.”