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COLM COOPER has sent an ominous warning to Kerry’s rivals by claiming that David Clifford could still get better.
Having been named Footballer of the Year in 2022 and 2023, Clifford’s performance levels dipped last season as his side’s All-Ireland SFC bid ended at the semi-final stage.
But the fantastic form of the 26-year-old forward has been crucial to the Kingdom’s run to this weekend’s last-four showdown with Tyrone.
Cooper said: “To me, he seems revitalised this year. He seems hungry. Mentally he’s probably in a stronger place. He’s living up to the hype and he’s living up to the expectations.
“And I think there’s more under the bonnet. I think there’s more to come.”
Clifford, who led Fossa to All-Ireland junior success in January 2023, lost his mother Ellen following an illness later that year.
And Kerry legend Cooper said: “I think he got a little bit drained from the season where his club, Fossa, went on to Croke Park and he was dealing with the passing of his mom.
“It was a difficult time for him but he looks to be really enjoying his football again. He’s hungry and he seems to be in excellent shape as well.
“I’m not surprised that he’s at that level.
“Look, there’s the odd bad day thrown in as well, which shows that he’s human and which is the same as every other player in the country.
“We’re just lucky that he’s in Kerry and he’s performing at such a high level. I think he’s beginning to mature as well as a footballer.
“He’s making other players better around him.
“His ability has never been in question — he can do anything — but I think he’s making the team a better team now as well.”
Clifford bagged a hat-trick against Cavan as Kerry set up a quarter-final clash with Armagh.
The Championship’s top scorer then racked up 0-7 from play as the All-Ireland champions were dethroned. Asked if he thinks Clifford will get better, 2004 Footballer of the Year Cooper said: “Potentially, yes. I think you get better with maturity and experience.
“You just learn more about yourself and your game and your team-mates.
“Is he midway through his career at the moment, if he stays healthy? Probably staying healthy is the most important thing.
“I think there’s potentially more there.”
Clifford was widely seen as Cooper’s heir when he made his Kerry senior debut less than a week removed from his 19th birthday.
But fellow Killarney resident Cooper said: “I have casual chats with him but he’s a very level, grounded fella anyway. I don’t think there’s too much he needs from me in terms of advice.
“I’m like everyone else. I sit back in the stand and admire and gasp at some of the stuff he does.
“As long as he keeps doing it, we’ll all stay happy.”
TREVOR GILES admits Meath are ahead of schedule going into Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final.
But the former Royals star has urged the current crop to seize their last-four chance against Donegal as it may not come again.
In an extraordinary season that has already yielded Championship wins over Dublin, Kerry and Galway, Meath have reached the semi- finals for the first time since 2009.
The campaign has been beyond the wildest dreams of supporters, whose team were preparing to play in the Tailteann Cup final this time two years ago.
Giles said: “We could say we’ll be here for the next few years because it’s a young team.
“But it’s very hard to get to another semi-final.
“You couldn’t guarantee you’d be there next year or the year after.
“It’s grand saying this is bonus territory but you have to make the most of the opportunity.”
Robbie Brennan was appointed last September to succeed Colm O’Rourke as Meath boss.
Giles, who was part of O’Rourke’s backroom staff, is full of praise for the new gaffer.
The two-time Footballer of the Year said: “We felt the lads would be a bit better this year.
“The young lads would be a year older, so I was expecting improvement this year with the team.
“But it’s been an unbelievable improvement since, so great credit to Robbie Brennan and Conor Gillespie and to the coaches and to the players.
“The county in Meath, everyone is happy. Everyone’s talking about the game. There are cars being spray-painted.
“There are double-decker buses going to Croke Park on the weekend full up.
“When it’s that little bit unexpected, it’s that bit more enjoyable.”
Giles, who is now coaching Meath’s Under-16 team, added: “For those fellas to see fellas maybe five years older than them playing in front of a full house in Croke Park, winning big games, is just massive for the future of Meath football.
“Those lads realise now, I could be there in five years’ time if I knuckle down and commit myself to the game.
“We’re hoping Sunday goes well but we feel we have a young team that will be competitive for the next few years.
“And then the second wave coming in a few years from the lads being inspired by this, so we feel we’re in a good place at the moment.”
In recognition of their achievements of 1999, when Meath recorded their most recent Sam Maguire triumph, Giles was part of the jubilee team introduced to the Croke Park crowd before last year’s final clash of Armagh and Galway.
And he would not have been bold enough to predict that his county would find themselves just one step away from contesting the following year’s showpiece.
He recalled: “It was a little bit sad leaving that day because it has been so long since we had won the All-Ireland.
“At that time, it looked like it was going to be a while before we’d even be competing for it.
“We’re a little bit ahead of expectation but I think — and the Meath lads would know this — that it’s a massive opportunity on Sunday.
“In the Championship this year, games have been so close.
“Really good teams just have not gotten this far because they have lost narrowly.
“I think in the next few years, the Championship is going to be equally competitive and tight so you just have to make the best of your opportunity when you’re there.”
AS TYRONE aim to land another knockout punch on Kerry, Colm Cooper admits that the Red Hands’ success in the lower weight classes is a cause for concern.
Tyrone have won three of the last four All-Ireland Under-20 titles, beating Kerry in this year’s semi-final and last year’s final.
And Kingdom senior boss Jack O’Connor described the Ulster county’s progress as ‘a big worry overall’ after they also got the better of Kerry to win a thrilling minor decider last weekend.
Cooper noted that underage glory ‘doesn’t guarantee anything’ as he cited his own county’s winning of a fifth consecutive minor crown in 2018.
But the five-time All-Ireland SFC winner reckons they will have to think long and hard about how to get back up off the canvas if Tyrone torch their Sam Maguire hopes this weekend.
He said: “Whatever they’re doing, they’ve got it absolutely right so it is a concern. I wouldn’t be overly drawn into the fact that it’ll end up with complete domination. I don’t think it will end up at that stage.
“But I would like to see other counties stepping up and winning.
“And if you look at the minor game the last day, it could have gone either way. Kerry could certainly have won that minor match so maybe the margins aren’t as big as we think they are.
“You would have to give great credit to Tyrone in terms of getting their underage systems and set-up right, because they’re market leaders in that from what I can see.
“Certainly for the general public and supporters like myself, it’s a concern if we’re driving down the road to Kerry on Saturday night if Tyrone have beaten you again and have beaten you at every grade. You’d have to have a review of everything that’s going on. But I don’t think the margins are that big for it to take over completely. We’ll wait on Saturday and hopefully — with my Kerry hat on — we won’t see utter domination from Tyrone.”
After Kerry ended Armagh’s reign as All-Ireland senior champions with a sensational second-half display last time out, O’Connor came out firing as he rounded on critics for ‘slating’ his team following their group-stage defeat to Meath.
On his former gaffer, Kerry icon Cooper said: “I was surprised maybe that he came out so ferociously.
“I suppose one thing it did was it indicated to me that he was probably stung by some of the criticism and it hurt a little bit, probably more so within the county than outside of it.
“But we’ve been down that road before in Kerry where things have been up and down a little bit and managers get attacked from every different quarter, be it supporters, ex-players and things like that.
“It’s probably something he needed to get off his chest and probably better that he did. Maybe, just maybe, he used it to motivate guys and telling fellas that we were being written off and written off by our own. But it certainly galvanised them and I just felt there was definitely fire in the belly the last day and I hope there’s plenty of it again this weekend.”
Tyrone were frequently a thorn in Cooper’s side during his playing days. After beating Kerry in the 2003 All-Ireland semi-finals, Mickey Harte’s men also foiled the Munster kingpins in the Sam Maguire deciders of 2005 and 2008.
The eight-time All-Star forward said: “Back in my time, Tyrone had a bit of a hoodoo over us . . . I don’t think there’s the same hang-up in terms of these teams because they’ve beaten each other at different times, Kerry winning the quarter-final a couple of years ago and Tyrone beating them in a semi-final before that.
“The rivalry will still be intense, particularly I suppose if you just look at this year.
“Tyrone have beaten Kerry in the Under-20s and they’ve beaten them in the minor final last weekend.
“Kerry won’t want to leave it happen three times in the one year. The intensity and the rivalry will certainly be there but it’s a little bit different than my time, I think.”
KEVIN CASSIDY knows Michael Murphy is a game-changer in Donegal’s quest for glory.
Jim McGuinness returned as boss ahead of the 2024 campaign and led the county back to an Ulster title before an All-Ireland semi-final loss to Galway last summer.
That was done without the services of Murphy who retired from inter-county football in November 2022 — but his old boss managed to coax him back for this year.
The Glenswilly man turns 36 next month but has played a starring role as they retained their Ulster crown and are back in the last four on Sunday against Meath.
Fellow Donegal legend Cassidy knew their talisman would have a massive impact as he went from retired hero to nailed-on starter. He said: “I’m not surprised at how good he’s been, but I’m surprised that we’ve used him as much as we have.
“I thought it would be a brilliant boost, but the lad’s just that good that he has to start.
“When I heard that he was coming back, obviously, we knew he was working on his own before it was even announced to get himself back into that kind of shape.
“We all know Michael in terms of he’s not going to step over the line unless he’s really able to give Donegal every single ounce of energy in his body.
“So for me, I thought this was the perfect mixture, that you would bring Michael off the bench ten minutes into the second half.
“The whole stadium would erupt and he would do what he does for Donegal.
“The problem with that, he was just so good, we couldn’t leave him off — so now we have a situation where he’s a guaranteed starter. I think he’s become so vital to Donegal again this time around that we can’t leave him on the bench now anymore.
“So when I heard what was coming, I thought it was a perfect mix. I thought it was very intelligent of Jim and Michael to get this together.”
And Cassidy believes this campaign has a 2012 vibe to it.
Donegal won an Ulster title in McGuinness’ very first year in charge in 2011 but fell in an ugly All-Ireland semi-final loss to Dublin.
They were slated for their extremely defensive approach in that 0-8 to 0-6 defeat, but returned a year later with a more counter- attacking game.
The new rules have revolutionised football, and Donegal have lit up the Championship as much as anyone with their high-speed running game and ability to score.
They are slight favourites to go all the way, and Cassidy can feel the deja vu from 13 years ago.
He said: “Back at home, it feels like that too. Jim takes a project and he breaks everything apart and builds it block by block.
“In 2011, that’s when he stripped it back and started to build.
“We failed in 2011, but he’s seen the differences in what needs to happen to get to the top table.
“If you look at the game against Galway last year, if we had Michael Murphy, would we have got over the line? Jim’s obviously identified that.
“He’s brought Michael back in. I think they’re playing a better mixture this year.
“We were just running the ball constantly last year. There’s a mixture this year.
“I think for any team to win the All-Ireland, especially in Croke Park, you need to vary your game. You have to be able to kick it.
“We have to get Meath out of the way first, we’ll deal with that then.”
l AIB, proud sponsors of club and county, have been joined by Kevin Cassidy (Donegal), Trevor Giles (Meath), Stephen O’Neill (Tyrone) and Colm Cooper (Kerry) ahead of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-finals, while John Galvin (Limerick) and Johnny Doyle (Kildare) join AIB ahead of this Saturday’s Tailteann Cup final. 2025 marks AIB’s tenth year as a sponsor of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship and fourth year as a sponsor of the Tailteann Cup.
TONY YANG – The brother of former Presidential Economic Adviser Michael Yang was arrested in Pasay City due to multiple complaints filed against him. Authorities served an arrest warrant following investigations by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last October 2024. According to police reports, the NBI had earlier filed 16 charges against Yang. These ... Read more
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