Éamonn Fitzmaurice says Kerry never looked like All-Ireland champions elect in 2024 as the county reflects on their surprise semi-final defeat to Armagh on Saturday.
Leading by five points early in the second half in normal time, Kerry appeared set to book their spot in a third successive All-Ireland final.
However, Barry McCambridge's opportunist goal steered the game in a different direction entering the closing stages.
Eventually pitched into an extra-time battle, Kerry could only rustle up another two points as Armagh seized momentum.
Reflecting on the exit, Fitzmaurice, who guided Kerry to the 2014 All-Ireland title, felt that it came back to the traditional bugbear of the lack of tough tests prior to the knockout phase.
And the ex-Kingdom manager reckoned that the five-point win over league champions Derry in the quarter-final was less of a stiff test than it might have appeared, given the exertions of Mickey Harte's side in Castlebar the week before.
"Kerry never looked like All-Ireland champions elect this year. There was never that purpose or rhythm about them," Fitzmaurice said on the RTÉ GAA podcast. "A team that wins an All-Ireland, as a season goes on, you can see the ingredients. When you look back, you can see the tell-tale signs.
"In Kerry, we kept expecting them to catch fire. I think when the draw for the group stages was made, we were a bit disappointed.
"Because they were going to win those games and there wasn't going to be a challenge there.
"I was actually quite worried last week. I looked back at the Derry game. On the second viewing, Derry were actually wrecked.
"At the time, I was so distracted by the quality of the game, I didn't appreciate how drained Derry were.
"Gareth McKinless stood out for me. He made a great burst and had the goal chance in the first 30 seconds. But after that, he never made those incisive runs that he can make.
"We felt in Kerry that 'ah, that was a good test, that gets them ready for a semi-final'. But on reflection, I was saying it actually wasn't.
"Armagh were battle-hardened. Galway, in the other semi-final, were seriously battle-hardened as well.
"That's why I often laugh at Seán Cavanagh, in particular, who loves to say 'ah, Kerry and Dublin with their handy routes to semi-finals and finals.'
"I know from being on the inside, if you're trying to win an All-Ireland, you much prefer a route where you're tested week in, week out.
"You just don't get to replicate those type of games and those type of scenarios in training. So, Kerry were probably the opposite of battle-hardened. That showed as the game went on.
"I thought in extra-time, they flagged a bit physically in the end. Armagh looked to have all of the energy."
It was another frustrating afternoon for two-time Footballer of the Year David Clifford, who scored just one point from play and whose struggles were in keeping with the general tenor of his season.
Their next most celebrated forward Seanie O'Shea scored two points from general play in the first 15 minutes but failed to do so thereafter.
For Fitzmaurice, the central question for Kerry in the off-season is why they never found their A-game in either league or championship.
"Where do they go? They'll go back to the start. They'll be at the bottom of the mountain now again.
"There'll obviously be a lot of external chatter in Kerry. That always goes on. But within the group, they'll have a serious review, a very honest review. They'll look at where they can get those extra percent to bring them back to the summit.
"I think the big 'why' they have to find is why at no stage this season did they look like themselves.
"Other than fits and starts. A half here, a half there.
"But they never looked like the best version of themselves this season.
"I think that's what they'll look to solve within the group, as a management team and as a playing group.
"Obviously you don't need to be outstanding in March. But you need to see that the steps are in place to go up through the gears as the year goes on. It just didn't happen this year for whatever reason."
Jack O'Connor, in his own post-mortem, was quick to stress the impact of the crowd, which was heavily tilted in favour of Armagh, with their supporters generated a massive wall of noise at big moments late in the game.
"I played against Armagh crowds back in 2000, 2002, 2006 and they were the same level of noise and fanaticism," said Fitzmaurice. "Certainly in an extra-time, that kind of support can give you energy.
"But, look, with the Kerry support, this is nothing new. It isn't a surprise.
"Particularly a Saturday evening game, traditionally it's always been the way. I remember we played Mayo in a replay in 2017 in Croke Park on a Saturday. If there was a few there from Kerry the last day (against Armagh), it was even half of it for that game (in 2017). A very small crowd travelled that particular evening.
"For a county that is so obsessed with football and it's regarded as a religion down here, I think for those big, big games at this time of year...
"You know, it's no longer the golden years, where it's 'ah, we'll wait for the final'. Finals don't come along every year.
"It is disappointing but it is a factor in why Kerry lost? I don't think it is. If that McCambridge goal hadn't gone in... it was that goal that brought the crowd back in as a factor. They believed from them on and really drove on Armagh."
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