Cahill calls time on an illustrious career

Tim Cahill hangs up his boots at age 39. Going for his coaching license and some TV gigs.

Thank you for the memories, mate. You're the reason I still wear #17 for my club.

Immense and a true hero.. if only the current players could show the same guts and determination..

And he popped up with a few against the RS.

That goal in the World Cup in Brazil, for Oz, is one of the all time great goals in World Cup football.

Look forward to seeing how Tim gets on with his coaching career.

Motivation, passion, desire and commitment and true guts, good luck Tim, in the future and further successes.

Absolutely loved watching the passion, the love that Cahill had on the pitch for this club and the fact he was such a hungry competitor that had a burning desire to try and do everything he could to win.

My favourite Blue from recent years, I think it’s going to be something special to replace Cahill from that standing.

Mind you, that's probably the very reason why he won't be asked back!

Why not?

Let’s start with him having fuck all coaching experience.

I don’t know how you can have a go at the ‘Boys Club’ and then go and advocate Cahill for a role.

A very average player in my eyes with a couple of quite remarkable talents. Incredible timing and one of the best leaps I’ve ever seen. There was no questioning his commitment either.

He will go down as a club legend and rightly so. Let’s leave it at that for now.

He always played with his heart on his sleeve, LOVED Everton for giving him a chance in the prem league and has proven to be another of that type of player that is VERY hard to replace.

True Everton legend! Enjoy the retirement, but come back and coach here... teach our team and youngesters a little of that hunger that made you such a great player!

Blue kangaroo was apt - he had such a spring and a great header of the ball.

One a few bargains that Moyes and his team found - Arteta and Pienaar also come to mind.

Any offers?

If he can instil that self belief into young players, he will be a great coach.

Quick before he joins his old amigo at city.

He was tidier on the ball than some give him credit for and played many a cute pass.

Of course he is most remembered for his battling, never-say-die Aussie attitude and his prodigious leaping and heading of the ball. Whilst Timmy Cahill was on the pitch a game was never lost until the final whistle. I bet the opposition hated him.

It's a trait sadly absent in the current Everton squad.

Our often static midfield would be shown up by a 39 year old. Id still back him to our jump and out of muscle any of our players including the 'mighty' Mina.

Seriously though if he can bring his enthusiasm, tenacity, work ethic and winning mentality to the team he'd be an asset to any club.

People may scoff as he hasn't won anything but he's got a winning mentality that took him to the top of his game every time he played. It's a team game and sadly he player his peak football for average teams going through transition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b96X8nuOU_c

Probably my favorite was the last-minute winner against City in 2008, and I loved that stretch when he and Fellaini played as an emergency forward line for several games.

But Paul's got it right -- that lefty volley against the Netherlands is immortal.

I still stand by that.

There's been no other player for Everton whom I'd want my kids to emulate more. It's all about desire and effort.

Hiding in Felliani's hair, jumping out to head home goals.

Those were the days.

W hen Tim was playing and it was 0-0 you always knew there was a chance he would get on the end of something and score the winner.

Quite often hid did.

He is a fantastic professional who has had a great career, and would make an inspirational coach . I wonder if the club is interested in bringing him in?

Oh Philip, just a couple? Contrarian to the last.

For a guy who wasn't an out and out forward, his goal return was amazing. My abiding memory of him was scoring against Newcastle at Goodison which clinched the play off place in the Champions League, and his 'physical assault' on Alonso, where he pinned him to the floor in the build up to the goal against the r.s at the Gwladys St end.

Despite his lack of inches, he was simply unplayable in some games against much bigger physical opponents, John Terry for instance.

He played in what was probably Moyes best ever starting eleven, to include Arteta, Pienaar, Baines (I think).

I absolutely loved watching him play for us. I can’t remember a game when he didn’t get hurt, or hurt an opponent. He once went for a bounce-ball in front of where I was sitting and took out his opponent and the referee.

I was at the Etihad on the day when we had no forwards - he played up front on his own, ran himself stupid, could barely move for the last 10 minutes, but popped up with a last minute winner.

A fantastic character and player. Yes, he had his limitations, but I reckon he would have been embraced into any Everton squad I have seen since the early 60s - they would all have recognised a comrade-in-arms.

Definitely my favourite player of the 21st Century, his attitude has always been spot on and he loves Everton. He doesn’t forget Millwall,who gave him his big break, either and he got them to an FA Cup Final too. There’ll be many tributes to him
In South London today.

A true Evertonian and I agree he’d be worth a coaching role with us now.

Not the tallest but his positional awareness made him one the best headers of the ball in the game.

I couldn't define his best position all I know is that he had to play, and when he did he gave his all, our current squad would learn a lot from this team's spirit.

A charismatic leader who made us look cool. Thank you for the memories and the passion Tim. No offence Marco but one day I would love to see Arteta as manager and Cahill his number 2.

Maybe, one day, we will see you don the Everton blue again but then as manager. Who knows?

We really missed the boat not tapping more into the Aussie market as they love him !! Same applies to Tim Howard and Landon Donavan in US and Pienaar during SA World Cup! We missed a trick there !!

If as some mention on this thread are the qualities of a limited player then let's buy as many of them as possible and start winning things.

The word is over used but he definitely falls into modern day legend for me

Link

Apparently, struggling Espanyol in the Spanish La Liga signed a Chinese player Wu Lei in January who has done well. As a result, their live TV games in China draw audiences of 25 million people.

To put that into context, many Premier League games attract a live British TV audience of around 500,000 - a mere one-fiftieth, 2%, of the number of Chinese TV spectators who watch Espanyol games.

Now different times and different marketing opportunities, but when you think that as long ago as 2002 a Chinese firm Keijan became our shirt sponsors, you do wonder if we exploited raw markets as well as we might have down the years.

Part of the Keijan deal was taking two high profile Chinese players on loan, Li Tie (a very tidy midfielder who I personally rated, signed on a permanent deal by Moyes) and Li Weifeng (a central defender who didn't pull up any trees, but to this day remains China's most capped player).

Li Tie got unlucky with injuries but he was regarded as China's 'David Beckham' at the time, their most high profile player.

How big a following did he have? When Everton played Manchester City on New Year’s Day 2003, a world record (at the time) TV audience of 360 million people followed the game.

If you read the linked piece, it discusses tapping into huge audiences as China offers is part of a long-term strategy La Liga has to overhaul the PL as world football's most lucrative league.

To a degree it is already happening with many a club having close ties with other clubs on every continent on the globe, but I envisage a time when clubs sign and play a player to monetize the massive online and TV audience that will tune in to watch a national player from their country.

I mentioned quite recently on ToffeeWeb that, at the time we signed Li Tie, he had the biggest fan club in the world, or so I read at the time. Yet another lost opportunity as you say.

Was close to playing for Ireland too apparently but his gpal record for Australia is outstanding

Pity he never claimed any silverware with th e club.

I hope you go into coaching/management as your hunger and desire as a player will set you up for this role. One day at Everton I hope.

Thanks again.

Definitely a big-game player: how many goals did he score against the Top 4 (& the RS). Some outstanding technically exquisite goals as well in his career for both club and country (the goal against the Netherlands was a copycat of a RVP goal for United which the media waxed lyrical about for weeks).

Enjoy coaching team. Hope to see you in the home dugout at Bramley Moore at some point

My abiding memory is a strange one. I vividly remember him leading the team to press away to Man City with us 0-1 up. Everyone listened to him and he controlled the team's performance. A proper leader on the pitch.

That and his performance in a 3-1 win at Villa Park that I still think is the best I've seen us play since the glory years.

Good luck Timmy!

I remember that Van Persie goal Terry, and I remember leaving Goodison, thinking, I hope we score in the last f...king minute next week.

We did as well, the last minute of extra time, and I finally got to see Everton, score a last minute winner against the other crowd, in a game were Cahill, played up-front, and fought for every single little ball, and Everton won, without a recognised centre-forward, because they showed loads of heart and plenty of guts!

Good luck for the future, Tim!

I met him a few times in Aus, and his eyes would light up at the mention of Everton. Lovely guy, lovely player - and a young man with a long life ahead supported by the wishes of Evertonians everywhere.

We could definitely use a few more limited types I think.