Last week saw Tim Cahill pay a visit to some of his old team mates at Everton’s training complex and has since been sounding out a loan move back to Goodison Park.
The Australian made no secret of his desire to pull on the blue jersey one again, claiming: “I am eager to come back and hopefully something can be done with Everton.” (Source: Daily Mail).
Despite an earlier article on this site suggesting that a double loan swoop for Landon Donovan and Cahill would benefit the Blues this winter, perhaps the latter should be avoided.
The Blue Kangaroo’s loyalty and ability for Everton can never be questioned, and if he did return he would be given a hero’s welcome after eight years of tremendous service under David Moyes.
Perhaps it is fitting however, that Cahill’s final involvement for the Toffees resulted in him being sent off for confronting Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye after the Frenchman had pushed a Goodison ball boy earlier in the final game of last season. He cared for the club and it cared for him.
An overused term in football is ‘never go back,’ a term that Landon Donovan and Duncan Ferguson in recent Everton history can claim is nonsense. But for every Donovan there is a Gravesen and for every Ferguson there is a Jeffers, two players who returned to Everton and endured much less successful stints.
With that in mind, this article will argue five reasons why Cahill and Everton should take note of that overused cliché and avoid tarnishing his reputation as a modern day Everton legend
1. Cahill’s form towards the end of his Everton career dipped
A Premier League goal tally of 56 is very impressive when you consider he was not actually a striker. In fact, only Duncan Ferguson can claim to have scored more than that for the Blues with 60. The fact that Cahill was by no means the most gifted of footballers was often forgiven due to his work ethic and goal threat. However, during the final 18 months of his Everton career, the goals began to dry up. His passion and work rate was still apparent, but Cahill was no longer influencing games in the way he used to.
2. Marouane Fellaini has shone in the role behind Jelavic