Brilliant minors storm to four All-Ireland titles on the trot
Paul Brennan considers the awesome talent that is David Clifford and what the future could hold for him, home or away
LAST Sunday’s All-Ireland minor final win shouldn’t be all about David Clifford’s performance, but the Fossa man hasn’t made it easy for us. Kicking four goals and four points on the biggest stage of all – Croke Park on All-Ireland final Sunday – is hard to parcel up and deliver without veering dangerously into hyperbole. Going into the final Clifford was already being likened to Maurice Fitzgerald – in mannerism as much as anything – but emerging as the man of the match recipient on Sunday afternoon the 19-year old was being mentioned in the same sentence as Mikey Sheehy, Colm Cooper and just about every other footballing god one could think of. He is that good.
Before we delve a little deeper in what the future holds for Clifford, it would be totally remiss not to acknowledge the collective brilliance of this latest All-Ireland winning minor team. The reality is that even without their marquee forward Kerry would still have beaten Derry. If one knocks off Clifford’s haul of 4-4 and the 1-4 he directly assisted then Kerry still win by a point, 1-9 to 1-8. A nonsense exercise, we know, but it still shows that even without the Fossa man this was a Kerry team quite capable of retaining the Markham Cup.
That Kerry set new records in this final will be satisfying for supporters and players, but the all round performance - from goalkeeper Deividas Uosis to Michael Slattery, as last substitute in - should be a source of immense pride to the management team of Peter Keane, Tommy Griffin, James Foley, Chris Flannery, Padraig Murphy and ancillary staff. Above all else, this has been a brilliantly coached team. Individual talent will bring a team so far but it’s the collective that always determines the result.
Yes, more players could have underperformed and got away with it given the scoring outlet Clifford brings, but every player involved still had a job to do and, to a man, they did it brilliantly. While the forwards excelled themselves in scoring 6-16 from play, it shouldn’t be lost that the Kerry defence was superbly drilled and disciplined, not only in Sunday’s final but by and large through the Championship. Conceding a penalty to Derry would have rankled with a perfectionist like Keane, but overall Kerry conceded very few frees in the scoring zone, while their tackling and turnovers were textbook quality.
Clearly, Derry turned out to be not the great team we had figured they could be – due as much to Kerry’s crushing superiority as anything else – but it was encouraging to see so many of the Kerry players, 17 and 18-year olds, don’t forget – to rise to the big occasion and play to their optimum when it mattered. Like the management team before them, Keane and co. have demonstrated for two years running that they have been top of their own game in harnessing the potential in an age group that can be notoriously volatile when it comes to temperament and mental fortitude. It has helped, of course, that this team of minors has for the most part dominated and dictated games from the first whistle.
Now, back to Clifford. No superlatives can do justice to the skills of the man, but suffice it to say that the county hasn’t seen a natural talent like him since a young Colm Cooper stuck his head above the parapet at the turn of the century. Clifford might have the gait and mechanics most akin to Fitzgerald, but in front of goal he has displayed all the stealth of Sheehy and the cold-bloodedness of Cooper. In some respects he brings the best traits of all three with him.
If that seems unfair pressure to put on a 18-year old we’d happily suggest that Clifford has already shown he can carry it lightly. In the modern era of cutting down on and cutting out access to GAA players, Clifford, as team captain, was afforded the chance to talk to the media (and by extension the Kerry public) ahead of the All-Ireland final and carried himself with humility and intellect and poise. On the field he dupes opponents with that laconic style of his, looking like one of the most unfit players on the field, until he comes alive to win the ball and do his thing. And mercifully he knows how to celebrate a score. It was refreshing to see him swing an arm and punch the air and show some genuine delight after his goals in a era when many senior inter-county players don’t show that kind of emotion.
Well before last weekend Clifford has been linked with a potential move to the Australian Football League, and Sunday’s performance has merely amplified the speculation about his future plans. It remains to be seen if Clifford is coveted or approached by the
Clifford might have the gait and mechanics most akin to Fitzgerald, but in front of goal he has displayed all the stealth of Sheehy and the cold-bloodedness of Cooper
AFL club, or if he has any interest in following Mark O’Connor to the antipodes. Whatever about the AFL’s interest in Clifford, it would seem to this observer at least, that Derry’s Callum Brown – who caused havoc when introduced last Sunday – would be a much better fit for Aussie Rules.
If Clifford does take up any offer to go Down Under then that’s that, but if he is still around Kerry next spring then the pertinent matter is what do we do with him? On the face of it the next step is the Under-20 Championship next summer under the tutelage of Jack O’Connor, but surely Eamonn Fitzmaurice (on the presumption he is there next year) cannot ignore what is arguably the best forward in the county right now. It goes without saying that what Clifford did against his teenage peers all summer won’t comes as easy against defenders of the ilk of Philly McMahon, Keith Higgins and Cathal McCarron, but can Kerry really afford to leave such a talent out of the equation completely?
Fears that Clifford, who turns 19 in January, is too young to be thrust into senior football are not without foundation but then it’s up to all the managers involved -– club, college and county – to, well, manage that. Of course there’s a duty of care to protect any and every young player stepping up to senior football, but at 6’ 2” and 13st 7lb (86kg) Clifford is no will-o’-the-wisp.
Colm Cooper expressed reservations about pitching Clifford in to senior football too quickly but Cooper himself made his senior Kerry debut a month shy of his 19th birthday and he didn’t fare out too bad. The argument that senior players nowadays are better conditioned and stronger, and therefore leaving Clifford more open to being hurt, is surely countered by the fact that even 15 years ago Cooper was afforded far less protection by officials and the game itself than a player is today.
Elsewhere in these pages fromer Kerry footballer Sean O’Sullivan writes: Back in 1999 I was called into the seniors for the three league games before Christmas. I had played minor the previous year. I was given 10 or 15 minutes towards the end of each game and it certainly was the right approach by the management as it gave me a taste as to what senior inter-county football was all about. Having worked with him in the development structure since 2013 I think David Clifford has the potential to do the same. That might sound like a big statement to make but think about it.
Affording Clifford some League football next spring, after a tailorprogramme of winter training, would seem a prudent way of doing things. Thereafter the senior and U-20 management can confer on what would be the best course of action for him for the summer. The same, of course, could be applied to other young footballers coming out of the last couple of minor teams.
Clifford’s future – if it is to be here in Kerry – will be in the hands of the managers he will qualify to play under. Let’s hope their heads are as cool as his. And their hands as safe.