Conor McManus Has Interesting Theory On Reason Behind David Clifford's Kerry Form

While David Clifford has long been considered the best footballer in Ireland, it seems clear that the Kerry man has taken his game to a new level in 2025.

The Fossa man was in supreme form during the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Tyrone, ending the game with a personal tally of 1-9. Even that did not tell the full story of his performance, one that consisted of a huge amount of unseen work to go along with the flashier contributions.

With an All-Ireland final now on the horizon, he could be in the midst of an all-time great season.

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David Clifford certainly looks like a player rejuvenated in 2025, having failed to win an All-Star in 2024 for only the second time in his inter-county career. There are a number of potential reasons for his remarkable form, with the criticism directed at Kerry over the summer having driven on him and his teammates in recent weeks.

Speaking on The GAA Social, Monaghan legend Conor McManus suggested that a long pre-season would have had an impact on his form at this point of the campaign.

He got a pre-season in this year. If you go back the last couple of years, he was going deep with Fossa in the club championship two years in-a-row...

It's paying off for them at the minute. Jack O'Connor was probably sitting down at the start of the year thinking 'how do we get this man in peak shape and peak performance come July'...

He's actually a freak in terms of his physical size, but he also has the finesse and skillset to go with it. He is the complete package in terms of a Gaelic footballer.

David Clifford had been involved in a number of lengthy club seasons in recent times, representing both Fossa and East Kerry. He would fail to make a county final with either side in 2024, the first time that occurred since 2021.

Jack O'Connor would also make the decision to rest his star forward for the first couple of games in this year's league campaign, suggesting at the time that some time away from the group would do him good in the long run.

It seems the off-season was used to hone his physical gifts, with Oisín McConville noticing a marked change in Clifford's physique this season.

He's in better shape, he's sharper, and he seems to be getting around men. The only option you have at that stage is to foul him and he's picking a lot frees in that area there...

He has done some work from last year. His body shape has completely changed, he's leaner. He's so much leaner than he was last year, I'm not saying he was in bad shape last year, but he has kicked it on to the next level.

Look what that has done to his football. It wasn't as if he was a bad footballer anyway.

David Clifford is certainly peaking at the right time, having a sensational run of form ahead of the All-Ireland decider later this month.

If he can produce a similar display against Donegal on July 27th, Kerry will take some stopping.