The expectations on Kerry talisman David Clifford are "off the charts" and yet the Fossa man could still end up as 2023's Player of the Year, says Ciarán Whelan.
The Kingdom fell short in making it back-to-back titles as Dublin rolled back the years with a hard-fought two-point victory in Sunday's All-Ireland SFC final.
Clifford was unable to match last year’s extraordinary performance in the decider against Galway (0-08, 0-03f, 0-2m), picking off two from play along with a free as he was followed closely by Mick Fitzsimons, with some uncharacteristic wides part of the mix.
With the bar set incredibly high by the four-time All-Star winner, any slippage from such lofty standards comes in for sharp scrutiny.
In just his second year with the Kerry seniors, Clifford hit six points from play across two games against Dublin in the decider and replay as Jim Gavin bowed out with five-in-a-row.
In the subsequent three finals leading into Sunday, of the 36 forwards who started the respective deciders, only eight scored more than his two from play, including his own virtuoso performance against Galway in 2022.
An outstanding pass for Paul Geaney's goal, a brace from play and a free was balanced out somewhat by four wides and an effort that dropped short, with the last wide in particular a sucker punch given it would have brought the Kingdom level once again in injury time.
"I’ve reflected on it the last couple of days, the pressure on that kid is just off the charts," Whelan told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "The weight of expectation that he carried into the final, it doesn’t even bear thinking about.
"He was fantastic all year. His contribution in the final – Paul Mannion was man of the match and he got four points – and the narrative coming into the final was if Dublin keep Clifford to four or five, they’d be doing well.
"He got three, he was involved in an assist and set-up 1-02 directly. Mick Fitzsimons made it difficult for him, no doubt about it and couldn’t have done any better in putting him under pressure.
"Maybe he forced him into quicker shots than he would have liked. One or two of them on another day could have gone over."
Fellow countyman Tomás Ó Sé spoke on the night of the final that the manner in which Clifford, and his brother Paudie, carried themselves in the aftermath of the death of their mother Ellen.
He too didn’t buy into the suggestion that the Fossa star had a poor day at the office.
"I have spoken to a lot of Kerry people and not one said Clifford had a bad game. He still contributed to that game."
With the dust settling on the 2023 season, the Sunday Game panel made an attempt at the Team of the Year – both Cliffords included – and the consensus among the panellists was that Dublin’s record-breaking captain James McCarthy edged out Clifford for the Player of the Year accolade.
Whelan says it was difficult to pick out the individual head and shoulders above his peers in the season just passed, but the argument for the Kerry talisman is still a strong one.
"Clifford was extremely consistent all year and still made a contribution in all the games."
Ó Sé said on Sunday night that he would still choose Clifford as the outstanding player, while putting forward the Dublin quartet of McCarthy, Colm Basquel, Brian Fenton and Stephen Cluxton as the most likely challengers from the Boys in Blue.
"Nobody cares down in Kerry who gets Footballer of the Year or the All-Stars. The one we wanted is up in Dublin. That’s not going to change.
"Whatever arguments go on about Footballer of the Year and All-Stars, it doesn’t make any difference."
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