Completing All-Ireland history: Keane can’t advance his case any further

So let’s get the semantics out of the way first. The Kerry minor footballers who triumphed at Croke Park today looked and played like a more callow team than their winning predecessors since 2014.

Allowances must be made. Football will have to redefine how it appraises inter-county minors now that the age eligibility has changed to 16 at the beginning of the calendar year. Many of the side that completed an historic five All-Irelands in succession for the Kingdom yesterday were 12 in 2014, when this extraordinary 30-match winning run started for Kerry. Additionally, David Clifford has played wicked tricks with everyone’s perception of what constitutes ‘a talented minor’ over the past few summers.