Everton’s gradual climb to form has been chronicled on this site for over a month now. When it comes to their squad, Tim Cahill and Steven Pienaar have been simmering on our Watchlist, with the occasional appearance in the Scout Picks. They’ve been on the radar, without too many fantasy managers taking the plunge to promote them to their squad. That situation may well change after Saturday’s win at Wigan.
When Cahill rose salmon-like to propel a bullet header into the Wigan net, it offered further confirmation that the Aussie midfielder has shaken off any doubts of fitness and fatigue and has started to hit the kind of form we’ve witnessed in previous seasons…
Cahill has scored three goals in his last six starts for Everton, two in consecutive league games. There’s a strong hint that he may now embark on a run of form that will see solid fantasy returns.
Cahill has developed a reputation for purple patches in previous seasons. Last term he chipped in with 7 goals in 16 starts between December and April, he also scored 9 goals in 15 starts from October to December in 2007-08. In short then, when Cahill reaches form, he normally maintains it for a good spell, returning around a goal every other game.
The key to Cahill’s contribution is his role just behind the lone-striker. Previously David Moyes has alternated Cahill in this role with Fellaini, but with the Belgium international now seemingly established in a deeper role in the Everton engine room, Cahill is unopposed in his preferred position. Moyes looks set to start with a Saha/Cahill partnership in the main from this point on, with Yakubu and Vaughan providing cover for the injury-prone Saha.
In the long-term Cahill’s own fitness could be an issue; he rarely goes a season without a minor or major injury setback. With seven bookings to his name, Cahill also has to navigate through until April 11 without picking up three more or he will face a two match ban. In the immediate future meanwhile, Everton’s fixtures perhaps provide the need for caution. It’s the Merseyside derby at Anfield next – a tough fixture which will see Cahill come up against a fairly resolute Liverpool back four; Rafa’s defence have kept five clean sheets in their last six league games. Everton then follow the Liverpool game with home encounters with Chelsea and United. It doesn’t get much tougher than that.
It remains to be seen whether Cahill and continue his scoring run over those three fixtures. He will clearly be the main threat to all those sides and we’ve seen him trouble that kind of opposition in the past. The time to invest in Everton and Cahill may come later. Fixtures improve markedly from gameweek 29 and by then Arteta could be back at his creative best to provide further ammunition. From that point until the end of the season, Everton’s toughest test will be a trip to Villa and a yet to be scheduled visit to Man City.
At a reasonable 7.9 in the Fantasy Premier League game, Cahill arrives in the same bracket as recovering teammate Arteta, the injured Aaron Lennon and the inconsistent Wright-Phillips. Only Chelsea’s Malouda is showing similar promise for the same kind of outlay. Interest in Cahill will surely be on the rise very soon.