James Horan: Paudie Clifford is by a mile the best Gaelic footballer right now
PHENOMENON: Paudie Clifford scored three points and assisted more for Kerry in their victory over Mayo on Sunday. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie
James Horan believes Paudie Clifford's form makes him the best footballer in the country right now. The Fossa man was superb for Kerry on Sunday as they easily beat Mayo in the Division 1 final. He held possession on more than 40 occasions, scored three points and assisted at least 1-3.
"The influence Paudie Clifford is having on football matches, particularly in the last maybe four or five weeks, is off the charts," former Mayo manager Horan told podcast The Gaelic Football Show.
"He's a guy dictating the tempo, flow, pace, winning the break zone, scoring, defending, taking kick-outs. The range of skills that he's displaying, the work rate that he's putting in, it's phenomenal.
"He's out in front by a mile, I'd argue at the moment, as the best footballer in the country.
"It's a joy to watch him. It must be a nightmare for a defender at this stage. He lines you up, drops the left hand down to the right foot and does that solo that you'll never get near. He's going to try and cut onto the left foot. He's cutting onto his right foot now. So you can't line him up.
"I think Enda Hession had him lined up brilliantly in the first half. You knew he was looking to cut back on his left and get the curler over the bar, but Enda positioned himself on that side so he couldn't cut. And then he just cut onto his right foot and curled one over the bar. He's playing superb football and is absolutely the heartbeat of that Kerry team."
Horan believes teams will have to curtail Clifford's influence to stop Kerry.
"I saw it against Galway last week as well," said Horan.
"His pace is phenomenal. He was being chased (on Sunday) while he was soloing by Enda Hession, who I can tell you - I know his numbers, I know his speeds - is a phenomenally quick player. Paudie was pulling away.
"With that pace and the control and balance that he has, but more than anything, his attitude, like his work rate is savage. Teams are going to absolutely have to do more to curb his influence on games because he's dominating games at the moment. It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out."
