Thread by @AdamMoynihan

Kerry have been described as a one-man team who are "mediocre/nothing" without David Clifford.

In this thread I will analyse the numbers to see just how reliant Kerry are on the reigning Footballer of the Year #GAA

Since making his debut in 2018, Clifford has scored 24 goals and 234 points in his 57 league and championship appearances.

He has scored 20-139 from play, plus 4 penalties, 85 frees, and 10 marks.

He is averaging 5.4 points per game.

So far in 2023 Clifford has scored 47 of Kerry's 195 points (24.1%).

This is slightly down on his percentage from last year (25.2%), although he has missed two games so far compared to one in 2022.

In 2021 he scored 63 of Kerry's 217 points (29%).

In 2020 Clifford scored 42 points - 28.8% of Kerry's total for the season.

Clifford missed six matches in 2019 which led to the lowest tally of his career: 36 points (12.6% of Kerry's total).

2018 was his debut season but he still managed to score 51 of Kerry's 240 points (21.3%).

Clifford has scored every single time he has taken to the field.

In recent weeks he has been sensational. He scored 2-6 against Clare, 0-8 against Mayo and 1-5 against Cork.

Against Mayo in particular, many of his teammates underperformed. This is what has prompted the debate - although Brolly has called Kerry a one-man team in the past.

His numbers are certainly impressive and he is unquestionably Kerry's most important player.

But how do his scoring figures stack up against those of his rivals, and his own teammates?

We would need to compare Clifford's data against all the other top forwards to get a full picture but just by way of example, Dean Rock scored 30.6% of Dublin's points in 2022.

Clifford's highest ever percentage for a season is 29%.

Shane McGuigan has scored 37.1% of Derry's points in the 2023 championship.

Clifford has scored 34% of Kerry's total.

Does this make Derry a one-man team?

Clifford has scored 50% or more of Kerry's points in just one of his 57 games. (He got 1-5 out of 1-10 against Galway in 2018.)

In the 2023 All-Ireland group stage alone, this feat has already been achieved by Darren McCurry, Cormac Costello, Shane McGuigan and Oisín Gallen.

Clifford has been Kerry's top scorer in in 23 of his 57 games, and joint top scorer in seven. Naturally, someone else has been top scorer the other 27 times.

Clifford has been Kerry's top scorer in the championship just once (2018).

(He was also joint top scorer in 2020 as he and Killian Spillane both scored 0-4 in Kerry's only match.)

Seán O'Shea has been Kerry's top scorer in the championship three times (2019, 2021, 2022).

Clifford and O'Shea made their debut together in 2018. Their scoring rate is almost identical.

O'Shea has scored 338 points in 64 appearances (5.3 points per game) versus Clifford's 306 points in 57 appearances (5.4 PPG).

O'Shea has scored 25% of Kerry's points since January 2018. Clifford has scored 22.7%.

All told, over three-quarters of Kerry's points during Clifford's career to date have been scored by his teammates.

Naturally Clifford also contributes to Kerry's scoring via assists. Unfortunately this data is not readily available.

Clifford also seems to get his scores at important times. Again, this data is not readily available.

Kerry's record in games in which David Clifford did not play:

P10 W8 L2

Clifford is a phenomenal player but several of his teammates are also legitimate stars in their own right.

The likes of Jason Foley, Tom O'Sullivan, Seán O'Shea and Paudie Clifford are elite footballers who would start for most, if not all, other teams in the country.

Kerry's captain is a generational talent, and he is standing out even more at the moment because a number of his teammates haven't really been playing to their potential.

Kerry have been depending on him more in recent weeks. That much is true.

But personally I would question if a one-man team is even possible at this level.

For example, as good as Clifford was against Cork, Kerry still needed O'Shea to kick his five points. Jason Foley had an excellent game in defence. It's never just one guy.

Would Kerry win the All-Ireland without Clifford? Probably not. Every team needs their best player, even more so if the player in question is a potential GOAT candidate.

However, when we look at the numbers, and also when we consider the calibre of some of the players around him, it seems unreasonable to say that Kerry would be "nothing" without him.