David Clifford has been crowned as the PwC Footballer of the Year for 2023, with the Kerry man claiming the gong for the second successive season.
The Fossa man had a remarkable year at both club and county level. He won All-Ireland club honours with Fossa to kick off 2023, going on to claim a Munster title with Kerry.
While he would come out on the losing side in the All-Ireland final against Dublin, he would then go on to win a county championship with East Kerry in recent weeks. He will also have the opportunity to add a Kerry intermediate crown when Fossa playing the county final this weekend.
Considering that and his performances throughout the year, most GAA fans will have few complaints about the decision to crown David Clifford as Footballer of the Year.
David Clifford, the first ever back-to-back winner of the PwC GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year award, reflects on a bittersweet year for himself and Kerry pic.twitter.com/rTqRwKU2BJ
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) November 17, 2023
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Dublin fans not happy about David Clifford FOTY win
While there is no doubt that David Clifford is the best footballer in the country at the moment, some have wondered if this award should have gone to another player, given Clifford's relatively quiet All-Ireland final.
Dublin were the best team in this year's championship, something they proved by beating Kerry in the All-Ireland final. Brian Fenton was the standout player on that team and he certainly came close to being named Footballer of the Year.
As a result, quite a few Dublin fans are questioning the decision to give Clifford the award on this occasion.
David Clifford wins player of the year. Thought Fenton had a better year & more consistent throughout the year but I’m sure Fenton would rather have the All Ireland medals in his pocket
— You Boys In Blue (@YBIB_) November 17, 2023
Footballer of the Year is a total joke hahaha always a pity award to the losers when Dublin win the All-Ireland. The footballer of the year should shine on the big stage. Fenton bossed the All-Ireland final, Clifford was noticeable only in how many easy scores he missed
— Renaissance Man 🇮🇪 (@OregonTrashTalk) November 17, 2023
David Clifford footballer of the year.. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
Dear me let’s celebrate failure, Brian Fenton absolutely mugged 🤷♂️— 🔴⚪️⚫️ (@DublinviaMoston) November 17, 2023
Fair play Clifford, a class footballer and fella
Fento has the one that matters though 😉#PwCAllStars— Fran. Mallon. (@hill16_trueblue) November 17, 2023
David Clifford me hole... He was shite in the final and semi when it mattered... Bollocks
— Jamie Goodwin (@Jim_le_Taxi) November 17, 2023
clifford player of the year…mccarthy not even nominated…i mean come on…
— aaron🎧 (@nonameoptions) November 17, 2023
Will Mick Fitz need a bigger pocket to keep David Clifford in, now that he has a second player of the year award.
Hard to know how you win that when you loose the game and your personal battle on the final.— Anthony Horan (@horan_anthony) November 17, 2023
While county bias will always play a part in this discussion, it is interesting that a Dublin player did not win Footballer of the Year this season.
The winner of that gong almost always comes from the All-Ireland champions, although this is the third time over the last number of years that a Dub has failed to win the award despite their team lifting the Sam Maguire. The other occasions came in 2016 and 2017 when it went to Lee Keegan and Andy Moran respectively.
In any case, you can have few complaints about David Clifford taking it home this time around.
