Everton Football Club News

• Nickname:Toffees
• Founded:1878
• Manager:David Moyes

• Ground:Goodison Park
• Capacity:42,440

Moyes dismisses Cahill talk

04 Mar 2009 - 09:07:18

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Everton boss David Moyes has defended Tim Cahill against comments made by Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce about the midfielder's style of play.

Allardyce believes that Cahill sometimes gets away with an overly-physical approach, but Moyes has dismissed the criticism of the Australia ace.

"Most of the time you see Cahill playing the man before the ball, but it's not often he is pulled up for a free-kick," Allardyce told The Daily Mail.

"Every player commits fouls, but it is down to whether the referee spots it. Sometimes it goes unnoticed if a player is as clever as Cahill is in the way he uses his body."

Moyes hit back by telling reporters: "I think the remarks are more down to Tim's importance to us than anything else.

"He can take the fight to people all right, but there is nothing about his record to suggest he goes about his job the wrong way.

"He sometimes jumps early and hangs in the air, but I would always be happy to trust the referee to make the right decision and judge whether a foul has been committed."

Meanwhile, the Toffees have confirmed that Mikel Arteta has undergone successful surgery on his damaged knee ligaments.

Head physio, Mick Rathbone, told the club's official website: "(Fellow physio) Matt Connery told me that the surgeon is extremely pleased with the procedure and that it couldn't have gone any better, which is great news.

"Importantly, Mikel himself is also in very good spirits."