Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has claimed the threat posed by Tim Cahill in opponents’ penalty boxes is augmented by the clever use of some of football’s black arts.
In the run-up to struggling Blackburn’s meeting with Cahill’s Everton at Ewood Park on Wednesday, Allardyce went out of his way to highlight what he regards as the Australian’s tendency to win space for himself with some sly shoves.
In what appeared to be an attempt to influence referee Alan Wiley’s handling of Wednesday’s match, Allardyce claimed: “Tim Cahill uses his body and it’s not often he concedes a free-kick, but most of the time we see him playing the man before the ball.
“Every player commits fouls. It’s whether the referee sees it and sometimes they don’t if a player is as clever as he is.
“It’s certainly very difficult to spot from their point of view and the spectator’s point of view. But you pick up on it if you have been in the game as long as we have. I’m not saying he’s a dirty player. He just uses his assets very well.”
Allardyce’s remarks prompted his Everton counterpart David Moyes to leap to the defence of his diminutive makeshift striker, who is usually dwarfed by the centrebacks he is up against.
