If we want the likes of David Clifford to prosper, football has to change

The guardians of the game have allowed it to become too easy to suppress inside forwards. The All-Ireland final saw the six starting full-forward players combine for a single point from play. That theme haunted the entire season.

SUPPRESSED: David Clifford of Kerry during the All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Armagh. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Three-time All-Ireland winner Liam Hassett laughed at the naivety of the question. David Clifford cut loose against his Laune Rangers, scoring 3-8. Why did they not deploy a blanket defence and double sweepers against him?

“Why don’t we do it…” he repeated with a smile outside the victorious dressing room in Fitzgerald Stadium. “Because I suppose we are trying on the other side, we know we have good ball players up front. If we have the ball, David Clifford doesn’t have it.” Simple. With the ball, Clifford was invincible. His contribution paved the way for Fossa to rack up 3-11 and they still lost out in the Kerry intermediate semi-final by two points.