Football Review of the Year: Footballer of the Year contenders, Game of the Year, highs and lows

Footballer of the Year?

Seán Moran: This issue became more challenging after the final given that it was David Clifford’s most difficult match of the year, but consider his CV coming into the final. He had been in better form even than last year when he was by acclaim FOTY. In the matches when Kerry struggled – Mayo, Cork, Derry – he was to the forefront of their resistance. On Sunday, Clifford ended up with 0-2 from play and 1-2 in assists, which isn’t bad for a discard performance.

Denis Walsh: David Clifford’s low wattage performance in the final rekindled the argument about player of the year, but he had enough credit banked to stay ahead of the posse. No other player brought his degree of virtuosity or as many sheer naked thrills.

Gordon Manning: David Clifford. The Kerry captain didn’t have one of his best days at Croke Park on Sunday, but he has been the outstanding footballer over the course of this intercounty season. Clifford’s performances leading to the All-Ireland final marked him out as the standout player in the country – 0-9 v Derry, 0-5 v Tyrone, 2-4 v Louth, 1-5 v Cork, 0-8 v Mayo, 2-6 v Clare, 0-2 v Tipperary. It is possible to make the case for James McCarthy too, but the reality is it would be more of a lifetime achievement award for the Ballymun man, a recognition of his contribution to the Dublin cause for over a decade. But this accolade is for the best player in the country in 2023 – that’s David Clifford.

Kerry's David Clifford watches a point go over during the All-Ireland final against Dublin at Croke Park. Photograph: Evan Treacy/Inpho

Ian O’Riordan: James McCarthy was fortunate to stay on the field against Kerry on Sunday, we must say that. His drive all season however proved inestimable. Dublin wouldn’t have found Sam Maguire without him – his ninth All-Ireland medal ensuring proper immortality.

Malachy Clerkin: Colm Basquel became an overnight success after seven years on the Dublin panel. The championship’s leading scorer from play, he was brilliant in the quarter-final against Mayo and hauled Dublin back into a final that looked to be getting away from them.

Best Game?

Seán Moran: Dublin 1-15, Kerry 1-13. This wasn’t a season of outstanding matches. Sunday, though, was history in the making and probably the last chance to see the game’s outstanding collective making their last stand. It ran to injury-time before being settled.

Denis Walsh: From a shortlist the Derry-Kerry semi-final probably tops the bunch, purely because, against all expectations, Derry came out to play and trampled on Kerry’s fingers while they clung to the cliff’s edge.

Gordon Manning: In terms of quality it might not have been greatest game to have graced the 2023 championship, but New York’s win over Leitrim in early April was special. The Connacht quarter-final finished level after extra-time in Gaelic Park and so penalties were required to produce a winner. New York won the shoot-out 2-0, in doing so they made history as it was the first time they had won a championship match. The scenes at the final whistle were some of the most joyous of the championship. There can only be one first time.

Ian O’Riordan: That preliminary quarter-final between Mayo and Galway stands out for several reasons, namely Mayo’s comeback. It was also a season-turning point for both teams perhaps – Galway exiting and Mayo forewarning Dublin of what was coming, lured into a heavyweight contest ultimately still above them.

Derry goalkeeper Odhrán Lynch saves Ethan Rafferty’s penalty during the Ulster SFC Final in Clones. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho

Malachy Clerkin: The Ulster final. At one stage, Derry and Armagh had gone point-for-point, over and back, for 13 straight scores across three-quarters of an hour of football. In the end, they were only separated by penalties. Mighty.

Memorable Moment?

Seán Moran: The evergreen Conor McManus planting two penalties high into different corners of the goal to keep Monaghan advancing in the All-Ireland quarter-final shoot-out against Armagh. It’s worth mentioning that his colleagues, Jack McCarron, Kieran Hughes and Micheál Bannigan, did the same, whereas Gary Mohan had the bottle to score his second having had his first saved. The highest standard of penalties that we’ve seen in a GAA shoot-out with the same five players obliged to repeat the ordeal, presumably lest we ‘smack of a foreign code’.

Monaghan's Conor McManus celebrates the win over Armagh in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final match at Croke Park. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho

Gordon Manning: David Clifford’s barely believable over the shoulder pass that led to Seán O’Shea scoring Kerry’s second goal in their All-Ireland quarter-final win over Tyrone was jaw-droppingly stunning. Running out of road facing the Hogan Stand sideline, and with Ronan McNamee and Pádraig Hampsey closing in, Clifford snap-kicked the ball almost on the half volley to the unmarked Tony Brosnan. Clifford’s vision to pick out the pass was incredible.

Ian O’Riordan: Anything from the long list belonging to David Clifford, his dazzling fetch-and-boot pass to the unmarked Tony Brosnan in the quarter-final against Tyrone a moment for the ages. Talent hits a target no one else can hit, genius hits a target no one else can see. Arthur Schopenhauer said that.

Malachy Clerkin: David Clifford lifting the Munster Cup after he and his brother Paudie had played and starred in Kerry’s win over Clare 24 hours after the death of their mother Ellen. He didn’t make a captain’s speech. No words necessary.

Biggest Disappointment?

Seán Moran: The provincial championships, even by their dismal standards, stood out this year and not in a good way. Yes, there was a gripping Ulster final, which went to penalties, but the other three were ghastly mismatches, not helped by the draw .

Denis Walsh: The provincial finals, and the GAA’s insistence in the TV rights package that all four of them must be shown live on RTÉ. If the moribund provincial championships must continue, don’t ram them down the throats of a Sunday prime time TV audience. The Ulster final was close and, in the end, dramatic, but on the whole it was boring too.

Gordon Manning: Donegal’s season was a series of unfortunate events, stumbling from one crisis to another. It is easy to forget their year started off with a league win over Kerry in Ballybofey because soon after they were in free fall. Paddy Carr left before the end of the league, while off the field Karl Lacey’s decision to quit as head of the county’s academy sparked a public and unseemly debate on the structures within the county. The year was a write-off and Donegal can only hope the lessons of 2023 ensure they have their house in order for next season.

A dejected Caolan McColgan leaves the pitch after Donegal's defeat to Down in the Ulster SFC quarter-final at Páirc Esler. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

Ian O’Riordan: That another All-Ireland football final feels like it’s come and gone in a hurry. The championship needs more time to catch its breath.

Malachy Clerkin: The football. We can dress it up any way we like and immerse ourselves in the tactical to-and-fro of it all until the cows come home. But as a spectacle, so much of it was dire, strangled and hard to watch.

Who are the Team to Watch In 2024?

Seán Moran: Most obviously Derry, who have evolved into a team with genuine credentials and equally obviously, Kerry, fuelled by the disappointment of losing their All-Ireland.

Denis Walsh: The suggestion is that Dublin will lose a handful of their pillar players now, and the belief that Kerry were not going to be dominant champions was borne out. This should leave the door open for somebody who cocked up this year. Maybe Galway.

GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Preliminary Quarter-Final, Pearse Stadium, Co. Galway 25/6/2023 Galway vs Mayo Galway’s Seán Fitzgerald takes to the field Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

Gordon Manning: Galway must surely have regrets at how this season transpired. Pádraic Joyce has a panel capable of challenging for All-Ireland glory, but they must keep their key players injury-free and attack 2024 as a united and committed force. Injury setbacks to the likes of Damien Comer and Seán Kelly hampered Galway’s championship ambitions this term, but at full strength the Tribesmen can target Sam Maguire.

Ian O’Riordan: There’s no doubting the quality and class of footballers now within this current Derry team, who will have learned again from their experiences of this summer.

Malachy Clerkin: Derry showed in the semi-final against Kerry that when they break out of their shell and attack with the same intensity they’ve put into their defensive game, they’re a match for anyone. Their evolution could be thrilling.