After Everton went a whole summer without buying any players, despite deadline day loans for Ryston Drenthe and striker Denis Stracqualursi, much of the attention surrounding the club has focused on the departure of Mikel Arteta to Arsenal.
Although the club managed to do a late deal for the Argentinian Tigres forward, the squad seems short in attacking areas, with sales of Yakubu and Beckford joining James Vaughan out the exit door earlier in the summer. With that in mind, much of the team's reliance for goals may again fall on Tim Cahill, with Saha and Anichebe both plagued by injuries in recent times.
The Aussie midfielder was used as a second striker on numerous occasions last season, and even as a lone front man every once in a while. The former Milwall man is renowned for his heading ability, despite only occupying a frame of around 5'10". The 31-year-old’s leap is all but unparalleled in the Premier League and has proved to be an asset time and again for David Moyes.
WhoScored.com has compiled an analytical review of the body part that has made Cahill such a threat, analysing the progress that he made last season and how further developments to his game could prove crucial this time around.
Over the course of the last two seasons (excluding the start of this) Tim Cahill has netted 17 goals in the Premier League, finishing as Everton's leading scorer in the league last season with 9. His figure of 8 the previous campaign (2009/10) saw him finish second to Louis Saha, with his goals proving essential to the club's 7th and 8th placed finishes respectively.
For those assuming that Cahill only ever scores with his head, you are nearly right. Over the past 2 seasons 13 of Cahill's 17-goal tally have been headed efforts, with just 1 of his 8 in 09/10 coming from his feet (the right one)! In fact, all 17 of his aforementioned strikes have come from inside the box, highlighting his ability when it comes to poaching and finishing with his head.
However, while Cahill's main source of danger last season continued to be his aerial threat, he did manage to net 3 of his 9 strikes with his feet (2 right, 1 left), showing a progression in this sense. His ability to add more goals from the deck may prove to be vital this season.
Another improvement last season saw the Australian international perform in the high profile games. Cahill netted 4 of his 9 goals last season against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and, most importantly to Toffees fans, Liverpool.
Perhaps the most significant and positive increase in his goalscoring stats is signified by the player's strike rate. Cahill's 9 goals last term came from just 22 starts and 27 appearances overall- he scored a Premier League goal every 224 minutes. Compared to the prior season's 8-goal haul, Cahill struck every 359 minutes, almost equivalent to a game and a half more action per goal, having started 33 times.
His record also improved at Goodison Park in 2010/11. Already a firm fan's favourite, Cahill adorned himself further to the Everton faithful by netting 5 of his 9 goals at home. Though this figure may seem unspectacular, he only managed to strike 2 of his 8 goals on home soil the previous season, though the fact that he travels well -scoring 10 of his 17 goals in the past two years away from home- can only bode well for the side.
The only player to have scored more goals at the club over the previous two seasons is Louis Saha. A look at the Frenchman's goals from the previous campaigns show that Everton's reliance on Cahill's dominance in the air may have strengthened. The forward netted just once with his head last season compared to 4 in 09/10. Of the 21 goals he has notched in the league, Saha has struck 15 with his feet (4 right, 11 left), proving he is far from a target man and that Cahill is a much-needed threat from set pieces.
A key player in Tim Cahill's success at the club is left-back Leighton Baines. The defender fired in more accurate crosses than any other full-back in the league by some margin and 4 of his deliveries were converted by Cahill last season- almost half of the Australian's tally. Keeping Baines at the club with minimal fuss thus far seems to be more of a surprise than that of Arteta previously, and will no doubt be essential to ensuring the success of both Tim Cahill and, more importantly, Everton FC.
