Marc Ó Sé: David Clifford 'on another level' to great Kerry forwards

Five-time All-Ireland winner Ó Sé even threw Maurice Fitzgerald into the mix and admitted that he has still 'never seen anything like what David Clifford is doing'.

Wed, 21 Dec, 2022 - 07:25

Paul Keane

KERRY great Marc Ó Sé reckons that while David Clifford might not have the height of Kieran Donaghy, nor Colm Cooper's uncanny ability to conjure a goal, he is still 'on another level completely' as a player.

Five-time All-Ireland winner Ó Sé even threw Maurice Fitzgerald into the mix and admitted that, with all of those players in mind, he has still 'never seen anything like what David Clifford is doing'.

Ó Sé won All-Irelands alongside both Donaghy and Gooch while, more recently, he managed against Clifford when Listry, whom he is in charge of, met Clifford's Fossa in the Kerry Premier junior final.

Clifford scored 2-12 that day and has since helped his club to the Munster title, capping a remarkable year that included his first All-Ireland senior football win with Kerry, his first Footballer of the Year award and his fourth All-Star.

Five-time All-Ireland winner Ó Sé smiled when asked about his strategy for containing Clifford in that junior decider and said the reality is that he is virtually unmarkable on present form.

Confirming he will work as an analyst for 2023 Championship broadcaster GAAGO, Ó Sé said he is looking forward to watching Clifford.

SEEN IT ALL: Listry manager Marc O'Se during the Kerry Junior Premier Club County Final as his team was defeated by Fossa in Killarney.

"Everything he touches is turning to gold at the moment," said Ó Sé. "He's just a phenomenal player. What he did that day alone (in the junior final) was frightening. His skillset is frightening, it's on another level. I've been lucky enough to have played with the Gooch, I've marked Maurice Fitzgerald in county championship games, but, for me, what I have seen coming from this fella, it's just on another level completely.

"His point kicking in particular is just frightening. If I wanted a fella to get a goal for me, all day long it would be the Gooch. What he could do with a ball was unbelievable but in terms of kicking the ball over the bar, I've never seen anything like what David Clifford is doing.

"If you look at him, if you stand next to him, he's a big, big guy, he's 6'3" so you have a bit of Donaghy and Gooch all rolled into one really because you've got this big target man inside and then he's got both feet, he can win his own ball. We're just so lucky he's from Kerry."

Ó Sé said his plan for Clifford in the junior final involved man-marking him and also placing additional 'protection in front of him'. The second part of the plan, which Meath's Castletown will also attempt when they face Fossa in the AIB All-Ireland junior semi-finals on January 7/8, involved cutting out the supply to him.

"You have fellas cheating back as well and covering, and that's all fine but then you have Paudie Clifford out the field as well and you're trying to do something there too," said Ó Sé. "Paudie makes them tick as well, they're a phenomenal club team.

"If you're a manager, and Jack O'Connor would have done it with me down the years, if I'm coming up against Alan Brogan or whoever, Jack would have a word with you before, 'If you can keep this guy to two or three points, you're doing a good day's work'. That's certainly the case with David Clifford. If you can limit his scoring from play, you're definitely doing well. But how do you do that?

"You have to deny possession because if he gets the ball then the danger starts."

With both Cliffords apparently at the peak of their powers, and the experience of this season's All-Ireland win behind them, Ó Sé believes Kerry deserve to be targeting Sam again in 2023.

"The fact that you win one, it gives fellas a huge boost, it gives fellas an experience that they want again, they want to win more," he said. "But it doesn't just happen as easily as that. You cast your mind back to the semi-final and final, key moments in those games. Had Seanie O'Shea not kicked that point (against Dublin), you were looking at extra-time. Would Kerry have got over the Dubs in that extra-time period? They are questions you'd definitely be wondering about. The final against Galway, the free-kick down in the corner, hugely controversial call, went Kerry's way and they got a point. That for me was the key moment in that game."