The clash of styles: Donegal’s bid to quench David Clifford’s fire

STOP CLIFFORD: Donegal and Kerry play two different styles of football but will Donegal be able to stop David Clifford.  Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

The man who engineered his own seismic breakthrough had concerns about the influence of another. It was 2014 when Eugene McGee offered his verdict on Jim McGuinness and speculated on what his legacy might be.

The Offaly All-Ireland winning manager’s book had a weighty title: The GAA in My Time: Ireland's Foremost Analyst Reflects on 50 Years of GAA Activity - on and off the Field. McGee acknowledged that McGuinness did “amazing things” in his native county, organising entire structures and formulating a new system of play.

“Initially it led to terribly defensive games,” he said, while stressing that Donegal found a way to generate more scores and get forward more to prevail in 2012.

Then he listed the cascading problems: the imposition of draconian powers on players, a raft of copycat coaches who stole the initial defensive template without ever evolving an attacking threat, a lack of long-range kicking.

"Personally I totally disliked the Donegal approach because it confined the game to a handful of undemanding skills they perfected to the exclusion of many more,” McGee wrote.

"The handpass was crucial to the Donegal style and stopping opponents when they had possession was also a key part of their game.

"But Jim McGuinness deserves great credit for his bravery in breaking the shackle of conservatism in football. Only time will tell what his, and Gaelic football's, legacy will be in 10 years' time.” 

McGee’s was a more sympathetic voice than many others who laid the decline of the sport firmly at McGuinness’s door. Ahead of a blockbuster All-Ireland final, it is worth unpacking what that actually means. Donegal have cultivated a style of play that is not just embedded in the county’s identity but forms the backbone of the most successful era in its history.

What they were in 2012 was a well-drilled side with the ability to counter rapidly, with pace and purpose. That involved long diagonal kicks to the inside line, most famously for Michael Murphy’s spectacular goal in the All-Ireland final.

Now, they are still an outlier. Defensively structured, but with the ability to break lines with incisive runners and layered support. A zonal, ball-hungry unit at the back, a full-throttle, through-the-hands wave in attack.

This didn’t come together overnight.

“I don't think there is a balance there at the moment. I think it is almost impossible to defend. The game is just crazy transitional,” said McGuinness after their league game against Kerry last February. They had to find a way to impose their own order on the chaos.

There is, obviously, a difference between setting your team up to defend and defending well. So far they have been as successful in this regard as any other. Which brings us to the immense task this weekend. Stopping the best forward of his generation, David Clifford.

David Clifford's shots from play 2025

The two-time Footballer of the Year and current favourite for a third award did something in the semi-final that he hadn’t done all year before that. Clifford scored a goal with his right foot. The Fossa flyer hasn’t resorted to his non-dominant side as often in 2025. He hasn’t needed to.

91 shots for 84 total points from play is a ridiculous return and a tribute to his surgical accuracy this campaign. There has been a noticeable venom in his performances. The same figurehead who urged the green and gold to come to the big house in their droves is determined to give them a reason to roar.

David Clifford's right side from play 2025

This is a different player to the young phenom who surged to the showpiece in 2022. That shooter was more rash and fired freely in a bid to torch the scoreboard. Now he poses a different problem. McGuinness must find a much sought-after solution.

Brendan McCole is the only defender consistently handed man-marking duties in their zonal structure. Will they twist that to counter Clifford? What does that mean for Paudie Clifford, Sean O’Shea and a talented support cast who have the talent to take on more responsibility if required. In the 2024 All-Ireland final, the six starting inside forwards combined for a single point from play. Can anyone imagine a world where that happens on Sunday?

This showdown will have a crucial say in the destination of Sam Maguire. That’s as it should be. Sport is meant to be a meeting ground of contrasting styles. What others choose to imitate and repurpose for their own ends can’t be blamed on the protagonists. Even in this hard-nosed world where winning is everything, Donegal bring a tactical innovation that is worth watching.

There is a mechanical precision to what the Ulster champions do. There’s beauty in that discipline too, in their co-ordination and choreography, in the execution of brilliant basics.

Gaelic football should always have space for systems as well as stars. It is in that collision that the sparks begin to fly.