Colm Cooper proclaims David Clifford 'as good as any player that we've had in Kerry'
Kerry are red hot heading into their clash with Tyrone off the back of another monumental season from David Clifford. Clifford has been his unplayable best in this Championship, scoring 7-44 across all Championship games this summer, with only 10 points not coming from play.
It's form that got people really thinking where David Clifford could rank among the greats. He's still only 26 and may 'only' have one All-Ireland to his name but some of the performances he's put in over the years has been worthy of way more accolades, such so that even pundits criticising his Kerry teammates for being 'useless.' Former Kerry footballer Colm Cooper and former Tyrone footballer Stephen O'Neill at the AIB media event ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi finals and Tailteann Cup final. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Speaking at the AIB launch event for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Semi-Finals, Kerry legend Colm Cooper was apprehensive to rank Clifford against the greats so early into his career. But that didn't stop 'The Gooch' from lauding Clifford's return to form this year.
'David in full flow is probably as good as any player that we've had in Kerry. We're very lucky to have him. The most important thing is that we keep him healthy. But you're right, he's revitalised this year. He's hungry.' David Clifford kicks a two-pointer against Armagh. Pic: INPHO/James Lawlor
'He's hungry, he's got his bounce back. I think he found last year, maybe 18 months, a bit difficult in terms of maybe mental fatigue more than anything else. But he's back in great physical shape and you can see from the images, he's really enjoying the game again. The hunger is back.'
'Look, I think it's probably unfair to be putting him into any category of where he sits at the moment. Maybe ask that question when he's coming at the end of his career and he'll probably be high on every list.'
It has been far from plain sailing for the Kingdom this summer as if it wasn't for a crazy 20 minute spell against Armagh they may not be in and All-Ireland semi-final this Saturday.
During the second half of the Armagh clash, after going 5 points down early in the half, Kerry went on a roll scoring 16 points as they turned the tables to gain a 10 point lead, ultimately a big enough one to knock out the reigning All-Ireland champions. 24 July 2022; David Clifford of Kerry celebrates with the Sam Maguire Cup after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kerry and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
You could say that Kerry are hitting their stride at the right time and Cooper feels that they are on the right trajectory but need to show that the Armagh second half wasn't a once off.
'The Armagh game was an incredible 20 minutes, but they have to make sure that they can find that same sort of level at some stage the next day.
'Obviously the graph is rising for them now and it will have to continue to rise for them to win the All-Ireland. But Jack [O'Connor] has been around long enough to know that winning against Armagh then losing this weekend will take a lot of the goodness of the stuff that they did away. So they have to back it up, they have to show that it wasn't a one-off performance. David Clifford during the match against Armagh. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
'Despite all the injuries, they've overcome and they've found their form and we're hoping that they're beginning to peak at the right time in Croke Park. And that's certainly something that the Kerry public are hoping for. And what we're hoping also is that that performance against Armagh in the second half will give the team great confidence in terms of, okay, we found our mojo, we're back and we're coming right at the right time.
It will likely take another huge performance from Clifford along with the rest of his Kerry teammates to beat this strong Tyrone unit. Tyrone may not have a superstar but as a collective Tyrone are a fine team. But with Clifford in the form he is, there aren't many who can stop him from succeeding.
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