“Without Clifford they are nothing” – Joe Brolly rips into “mediocre” Kerry

"Kerry’s mediocrity is shocking."

Joe Brolly has ripped into Kerry after they limped over the line against Cork at the weekend, and claimed that without David Clifford "they are nothing." Kerry were fortunate to come away with a victory against Cork on Saturday as a controversial penalty proved to be the difference between the two teams. The Kingdom had a good first half but The Rebels were coming back fighting in the second half and really had their tails up when Sean Potter was given a black card. According to the rules if you stop a goal-scoring opportunity, even if it's outside of the box, then it's black card and a penalty to the opposition. Whether or not Paul Geaney was actually through on goal was debate, and with Cork down to 14 men after conceding a goal, it was an uphill battle from there. Clifford converted from the spot and hit some wonderful scores to make sure that the All-Ireland champions left with the win. However, there were some questionable aspects of Kerry's performance, prompting Brolly to make some harsh assessments in his column with the Irish Independent.

"Without Clifford they are nothing. "Seanie O’Shea is a beautiful free-taker and kicked three delicate points in the first half, but when it came to the business end, it was Clifford, as always, who was the difference. https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/1665014923653423105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1665014923653423105%7Ctwgr%5E30dbbf7ec3991493493d4b6bb8ffb0d9a61722d0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fextra.ie%2F2023%2F06%2F04%2Fsport%2Fgaa%2Fwithout-clifford-theyre-nothing-joe-brolly-launches-astonishing-attack-on-mediocre-kerry

"Kerry’s mediocrity is shocking. Without him there would have been no All-Ireland. Without him, they would have lost yesterday to an awful Cork team." Kerry were coming off the back of a defeat to Mayo, and badly needed this win to ensure their spot in the preliminary quarter finals. They play Mickey Harte's Louth team next. Related links:

• Marc O Sé compares Kerry midfield to Man United's treble winning strikers
• Rian O'Neill sees red in Armagh defeat for kneeling on Tyrone defender
• Kieran McGeeney hits back at Armagh's critics after loss to Tyrone