The Friedkin Group have Everton's best interests at heart reckons former Blues midfielder Tim Cahill
Former Everton player Tim Cahill
Former Everton player Tim Cahill (BBC)
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Everton icon Tim Cahill insists that The Friedkin Group have the club’s best interests at heart despite widespread criticism of the owners following a chaotic end to the summer transfer window.
Despite pocketing over £100million on deadline day with their most creative talent Iliman Ndiaye, last season’s top scorer Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson all sold, plus Adam Aznou loaned out, following the late collapse of the purchase of USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun from Monaco, the Blues were left with a first-team squad of 18 outfield players that contains just one striker, one left-back and one right-back.
Last week, former Blues defender Richard Dunne told the ECHO that he felt manager David Moyes had been let down by the owners, but Cahill, who was brought to the club by the Glaswegian gaffer in 2004 and made 278 appearances, scoring 68 goals, reckons the Texans’ remain committed to get things right.
The former Australia international, now 46, was asked by Giulia Bould in an interview for BBC Radio Merseyside, whether the Friedkins had Everton’s best interests at heart because we don’t hear from them and said: “Of course, and I think you’ve got to be careful what you wish for. Don’t hear from them, what does that mean? (Moyes revealed after the window closed that chairman Dan Friedkin, who has never attended an Everton game, has also never spoken to him).
“Do you want a phone call to make sure everything’s ok or do you want a beautiful stadium with a great-running business? And also, the football is going well.
“The representatives are there of the ownership group (principally Dan Friedkin’s son-in-law Rishi Majithia). They’re at every game.
“I feel like, when we did hear from the owners and they were at every game, what was it, three years ago? (Previous majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri actually did not attend a Premier League fixture at Goodison Park after Everton’s 5-2 loss to Watford on October 23, 2021, some 38 months before his sale of the club went through) We were nearly getting relegated.”
Cahill, who will captain a Merseyside Team against a Rest of the World XI skippered by Rivaldo in the Game4Hope charity match on Saturday, which was switched from Hill Dickinson Stadium to Goodison Park eight days before kick-off, added: “I never forget when I was at Everton. I think it was Bill Kenwright, people were asking to sell the club and bring in investment, so they did.
“What happened? Everyone saw what happened in the last five years before this group.
“Now, there’s some stability and I feel football is no longer the same as what it was before. Now it’s a business, whether you like it or not.
“We can look over to Tottenham, we can see them spending over £300million and the difficulty that they’re having and the difficulties that Manchester United have had with a big investment.
“There’s no bigger Blue than me when it comes to somebody who supports from afar. I don’t go to every game, I don’t live in the city and I understand the fans’ frustration but I feel at the moment, now, I’m not really bothered if I don’t know who the owners are.
“The one thing I’m bothered about is, when I got to the stadium – and I love Goodison Park – but I see ‘wow’ we actually have the best stadium in the city. We have an amazing training ground that needs to be developed again.
“We have the infrastructure in play that is bright for the future. When you say: ‘looking for investment,’ tell me a club now that is not looking for investment.”