CARLING CUP PREVIEW: Tim Cahill pays tribute to Goodison stability

Jan 23 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

THE last time Tim Cahill proved a semi-final match-winner, it earned the Australian his “dream move” to Goodison Park.

But should the midfielder land an equally decisive blow against Chelsea in the Carling Cup this evening, another departure would be the last thing on his mind.

Instead, it would underline why an increasingly lengthy list of players are following Cahill’s example by signalling their commitment to David Moyes’s long-term Everton vision.

Along with Mikel Arteta, the 28-year-old penned a new five-year contract in the summer despite his existing deal having three years left to run.

It’s been the same story throughout the squad during the last 12 months.

Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert were the latest to agree new contracts earlier this week, while strikers Andrew Johnson, James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe and new signings Tim Howard, Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Yakubu have all penned lengthy deals, with Everton hopeful that Joleon Lescott will shortly do the same.

That stability has proven the foundation for a so far successful season for Moyes’s men, which reaches a defining moment in front of an expectant Goodison Park tonight.

And Cahill believes that, like his players, the Everton manager’s gaze won’t be averted elsewhere.

“I think the manager is here for the long haul,” he says. “He is building something special and I think it would be a hell of a waste if he walked away from it.

“He has got so much to achieve with us. The manager can see a goal and we can see a goal. He has made us all part of it. Mikel Arteta has signed a deal, I have and a lot of the players have.

“Basically the gaffer has brought in stability. I feel as if the core of a side is there. He can call upon numerous players and they will play 40 games a season. He knows he can trust them.

“I’d sign a contract every year. For footballers, the big thing is stability and security for your family. Here you can a see a goal and you can see where we are going. The club have put the money up for me and the big players.

“When I first signed here, it was a dream come true. It was the same for Mikel, Joleon and a lot of the other of our big players. The last three years we have smashed the transfer record for Beats, AJ and Yakubu. The signs are that this club is looking to build.”

The next stage of that building process comes tonight with the visit of Chelsea, as Everton aim for their first appearance in a major final since lifting the FA Cup in 1995.

Silverware would provide a tangible reward to the undoubted progress at Goodison during recent years, and Cahill admits: “This is our opportunity to make a mark. We feel we can get a good result in front of our own fans and we can’t be fazed by the occasion.

“I feel like the fans are going to play a massive part. The noise is ridiculous and they are exceptionally loud. We really need to take advantage of having those fans behind us.

“The opportunity to do something has been here for three or four years. The experience of going out early in the Champions League and UEFA Cup has stood us in good stead. The gaffer has learned how to build a squad, the players have learned how to cope better with games.”

Lescott’s agonising injury-time own goal a fortnight ago consigned Everton to a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the first leg, and means they must win tonight.

“Obviously we would have liked a draw from the first game but they are coming to our place on the back of some great results,” says Cahill. “We are very confident because we feel Chelsea have a few injuries and that might work in our favour.

“Chelsea will be very confident and think they can come to Goodison Park and just walk all over us but I know that they will be in for a game.”

Cahill was snapped up by Everton soon after impressing during Millwall’s run to the FA Cup final in 2004, the Australian scoring the only goal in the semi-final win over Sunderland.

And the player knows that a “special feeling” it is to step out in a major final. “The experience I had with Millwall, when we were always up against it, was amazing,” adds Cahill. “It’s something that you will never be able to take away. It will stay with me forever.

“Tomorrow night is another chance to make a special feeling coming true. The reality is there because this is a chance that we have got to take. But if we are going to take that chance, we are going to have to be on the ball.”

That semi-final demonstrated Cahill’s happy knack for a goal.

Indeed, since returning from his long-term metatarsal injury in October, the Australian has excelled in his attacking midfield role with nine goals in 18 matches.

“I’ve tried to be more clinical than I have been any other season but I should have maybe three to five more goals,” he says. “You can beat yourself up about but you just need to sharp and when the chance arrives, you have to take it. That’s the secret.”

Of tonight’s game, Cahill adds: “Some people might see this as our final but we want to make sure that we get to Wembley.

“This game could go for 90 minutes plus another 30 but we are fit and ready for it. We know what we are up against. Have we practised penalties? Not really. Hopefully we will just do the business in the allotted time and we won’t need them.”

With the man Moyes calls his ‘Johnny on the spot’ in top form and in the mood, don’t bet against it.