Tim Cahill signs for Melbourne City
Paul Williams
There's been plenty written and said about Socceroos legend Tim Cahill signing for Melbourne City in the past few days.
Football Federation Australia CEO David Gallop was at his hyperbolic best when he described Cahill's signing as the biggest in the history of the league, surpassing that of Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero.
He took the hyperbole even further when he said signing Cahill was the number one item on their agenda for their recently announced four-year plan. With Brisbane Roar in a constant state of chaos, continued questions over the long-term viability of the Central Coast Mariners and the ever-present issue of financial sustainability for all clubs, it was a remarkable claim.
Hopefully it was just marketing hyperbole, otherwise it points to a head office with its priorities well out of whack.
The signing of Cahill is significant, and is important for the league, however. The amount of column inches and air time dedicated to it, smack bang in the middle of the Olympic Games, is testament to that.
But for all the talking, it's now time for action, from Cahill and FFA.
After a long, and at times ugly public courtship, the FFA got their man. Australia's highest profile footballer - some would say best ever, but that's an argument for another day - will be playing in the A-League. It's not often we've been able to say that.
It's hugely significant at a time when the FFA is looking to sign a new TV rights deal, wanting to show to TV executives the power of football and the potential that exists. TV networks want eyeballs and superstars bring eyeballs.
While it was long speculated he would sign for one of the two Sydney clubs, in reality Melbourne City is the perfect club for Cahill.
Despite their two years under City Football Group ownership, and having one of the best teams in the league last season, they still played their home games largely against a backdrop of empty green seats at AAMI Park.
Mooy was a magician and Bruno was brilliant, but it spoke volumes of where the league was at that neither was a household name outside the football bubble. They should have been.
Cahill transcends football, he appeals to the casual fan that City needs to attract to get a foothold in Melbourne. It's harsh but as Heart, and most recently as City, they've been largely irrelevant, existing only to provide a counterpoint to Melbourne Victory and to give us three Melbourne derbies a year.
Signing Cahill, as well as another rumoured high-profile marquee, along with Bruno Fornaroli who has signed a new three-year deal, gives them the perfect opportunity to cut through and start to challenge Victory as the top dog in town.
The best way to do that is success, and it's now incumbent upon Cahill to deliver where it matters most - on the pitch.
He's shown he's still capable of scoring with the Socceroos and now he will be expected to do so in a City shirt. The biggest question, from a playing perspective, will be just how John van't Schip fits he and Fornaroli into the same starting eleven.
The pressure is on FFA to deliver too.
The marketing of the league in the last few seasons has been disastrous, allowing itself to be swamped by the marketing machine that is Big Bash cricket.
FFA has committed to a greater emphasis on marketing as part of its four-year plan and now it has its poster boy and front man. It has to make the most of Cahill like it arguably didn't with Del Piero.
It has targeted a doubling of the TV rights to $80m per year. It now has to deliver. This is David Gallop's big test.
Despite FFA Chairman Steven Lowy's attempts to downplay to significance of the total value of the TV deal, insisting increased free-to-air exposure is more important than cold hard cash (which arguably is true), the FFA will be marked against their goal of $80m.
The ink on the contract is dry, the official unveiling has been and gone and Cahill is now in training with his new teammates.
The time for talking is over. It's action time.
Copyright © Paul Williams and Soccerphile.com
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