Poor, very much out of form (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
badly-off
'poor' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'very much out of form' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'out' could be 'off' (I've seen this before) and 'off' is found in the answer.
'very much' could be 'badly' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'badly' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for badly-off that I've seen before include "In dire straits financially" , "Poor" , "At a disadvantage" , "Hard up" , "Poverty-stricken" .)