National Forum

Is David Clifford The Best Footballer In The Country Right Now?

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Replying To seanie_boy:  "On current form I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Paddy Mc Brearty. Clifford undoubtedly a great talent too. There are others as mentioned such as Fenton,Kilkenny. And I d give a shout out to Mc Shane and Mattie Donnelly too. Many great players around and the problem for Clifford is that his reputation preceded him and now he has to live up to it. He might just do that too from what we are seeing so far."
McBrearty is class and to think he was born n bred in Dublin imagine if we had him aswell. I know he's a proud Donegal man now before I get attacked.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 16/07/2019 09:43:54    2211731

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That's harsh. Clifford didn't carry Kerry by himself on Sunday, he was one of a number of outstanding performers.

offyertrolley (Leitrim) - Posts: 141 - 16/07/2019 09:45:58    2211732

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "McBrearty is class and to think he was born n bred in Dublin imagine if we had him aswell. I know he's a proud Donegal man now before I get attacked."
Has a Donegal parent and a dublin parent, went to school in Carrick, part of the fine stable of players from that south-west Donegal school and played underage, minor and Senior with Kilcar, so 'born and bred in Dublin' is pretty far off the mark..

Donegal_abroad (Donegal) - Posts: 1319 - 16/07/2019 09:59:46    2211740

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Replying To realdub:  "After all that I would say that right now, pound for pound, the best all round player in game is Jack McCaffrey!"
Certainly in the conversation. He is a nightmare to face.

GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 16/07/2019 10:04:28    2211742

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Unreal player , Killarney has produced in the last 15 years Gooch , James O Donoghue and now Clifford imagine if there was only one club team in Killarney wow. That is one talented town for Gaelic football.

For me and obviously I'm biased but right now Brian Fenton is the best footballer in the game.
clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9777 - 15/07/2019 19:33:35 2211548

And considering Killarney had no player on the panel during the "Golden Years" era.

your.right (Longford) - Posts: 74 - 16/07/2019 10:14:52    2211752

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The chap is a huge talent. He is one of a few players who can be considered the best in the country at the minute. Depends on how you define the greatest. Its subjective. I'd say he is treated like royalty in Kerry.

lilylanger (Kildare) - Posts: 758 - 16/07/2019 10:30:17    2211759

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Replying To Donegal_abroad:  "Has a Donegal parent and a dublin parent, went to school in Carrick, part of the fine stable of players from that south-west Donegal school and played underage, minor and Senior with Kilcar, so 'born and bred in Dublin' is pretty far off the mark.."
He was born in Dublin and lived in Dublin until he was 10 and played a bit of football with the Jame's Gaels club. So not as wide of the mark as you think. Not saying for a second he's a Dub as he's clearly a Donegal man true and true and good luck to him but many people don't seem to know his background at an early age.

TrueBlue35 (Dublin) - Posts: 206 - 16/07/2019 10:39:48    2211763

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Replying To TrueBlue35:  "He was born in Dublin and lived in Dublin until he was 10 and played a bit of football with the Jame's Gaels club. So not as wide of the mark as you think. Not saying for a second he's a Dub as he's clearly a Donegal man true and true and good luck to him but many people don't seem to know his background at an early age."
I think hes a nephew of Tommy Conroy - St Vincents.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4443 - 16/07/2019 10:47:47    2211764

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Replying To Donegal_abroad:  "Has a Donegal parent and a dublin parent, went to school in Carrick, part of the fine stable of players from that south-west Donegal school and played underage, minor and Senior with Kilcar, so 'born and bred in Dublin' is pretty far off the mark.."
He's was born in Dublin and move to Donegal when he was 12. He's a proud Donegal man and proud of his Dublin roots.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 16/07/2019 11:02:37    2211768

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Ok ill say it, Diarmuid Connolly.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4443 - 16/07/2019 11:16:58    2211783

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I would agree that some dubs do not stand out as much because they are operating along side many players close to a similar high level. Therefore the comments above on Con O'Callaghan, Mannion, Kilkenny etc are valid. Take any of these men out of Dublin and put them in another county setup as the main man and they would stand out a mile.

Last year in Clones Clifford and Conor McManus lit up the super 8's with two top performances at either end of the field. Both however are at opposite ends of their football careers. McManus has been a class act for a decade but probably no longer gets into the conversation as best footballer in the country especially this year after Monaghan limped out early.

Howwever I am hoping to see a similar episode at the weekend when Donegal take on Kerry with McBrearty at one end and Clifford at the other. If it is anyway close to the clones battle last year then we are all in for a treat.

Tim_NicebutDim (Monaghan) - Posts: 347 - 16/07/2019 11:21:44    2211784

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For a big guy he seems to be able to get down low for an awkward ball as well as field high ones.
Scores from anywhere. He will probably be double if not triple marked on Saturday which will causeproblemas elsewhere for us.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 16/07/2019 11:27:54    2211791

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I would say he has potential to be an all time great. I would not have given him MOM v Mayo, I thought Moran was the stand out player. Clifford was up against an ageing Mayo defence who rolled over, he was given acres of space and a player of his quality will look even better when given it. Yes he is an execptional talent, lets see how he goes for a few seasons. BTW i'd have both Murphy and Fenton ahead of him at present. Hopefully he stays put in kerry and he is not tempted to go down under, still youn enough to make the transition.

thegen (Dublin) - Posts: 30 - 17/07/2019 08:49:46    2212196

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Last couple of years McManus has been one of the best to come around in a long time , talk about carrying a team on your shoulders ,takes savage punishment, not so good this year but belongs in the mix , McBreathy another good call type of talent that you either are born with or not , there are savage players playing at the moment which is a good thing thank god as some coaches try to stifle entertainment in the name of results

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 17/07/2019 09:02:55    2212198

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Replying To thegen:  "I would say he has potential to be an all time great. I would not have given him MOM v Mayo, I thought Moran was the stand out player. Clifford was up against an ageing Mayo defence who rolled over, he was given acres of space and a player of his quality will look even better when given it. Yes he is an execptional talent, lets see how he goes for a few seasons. BTW i'd have both Murphy and Fenton ahead of him at present. Hopefully he stays put in kerry and he is not tempted to go down under, still youn enough to make the transition."
Luckily he's brushed kennelly off once. I see mark O'connor has just been given a 3 year contract extension, he's flying down there top of the league. He would have been a colossus in midfield for us if he'd stayed. And with Armagh and Sligo about to lose good assets it would be a worry. Fair play to Clifford though he's showing his loyalty to Kerry and the gaa

reithi (Kerry) - Posts: 52 - 17/07/2019 09:44:19    2212219

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Replying To reithi:  "Luckily he's brushed kennelly off once. I see mark O'connor has just been given a 3 year contract extension, he's flying down there top of the league. He would have been a colossus in midfield for us if he'd stayed. And with Armagh and Sligo about to lose good assets it would be a worry. Fair play to Clifford though he's showing his loyalty to Kerry and the gaa"
I'd be more worried about his cousin Paul o'shea Heading down under, he's on the radar big time.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 17/07/2019 10:32:22    2212244

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "I'd be more worried about his cousin Paul o'shea Heading down under, he's on the radar big time."
Yes he seems another brilliant prospect

reithi (Kerry) - Posts: 52 - 17/07/2019 11:10:21    2212264

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Replying To Damothedub:  "Last couple of years McManus has been one of the best to come around in a long time , talk about carrying a team on your shoulders ,takes savage punishment, not so good this year but belongs in the mix , McBreathy another good call type of talent that you either are born with or not , there are savage players playing at the moment which is a good thing thank god as some coaches try to stifle entertainment in the name of results"
completely agree, McManus for me had been the best forward and the most influential player in the game for a few years and obviously the early exit didn't help mcmanus but it seems this year Clifford is really taking off and showing his worth. however I still don't think McManus is done, maybe with the change up in charge for monaghan next year he might shine again, he is certainly still capable and could easily be right back in the mix

boman11 (Antrim) - Posts: 237 - 17/07/2019 11:27:00    2212274

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Replying To KingdomBoy1:  "I'd be more worried about his cousin Paul o'shea Heading down under, he's on the radar big time."
Is Paul O'Shea the red headed lad from last year's minors?

offyertrolley (Leitrim) - Posts: 141 - 17/07/2019 11:53:15    2212285

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Replying To reithi:  "Yes he seems another brilliant prospect"
He did very well at the AFL combine last year but was probably too young to go at 17. I don't know if he will go or not but it would be a disappointment from a Kerry perspective.

Very hard to blame the lads that do go though, it's a great opportunity to be a professional athlete.

GeniusGerry (Kerry) - Posts: 2105 - 17/07/2019 12:10:55    2212293

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