Derry City, Derby County, Stephen Kenny and Ed Sheeran renditions: Barry Molloy looks back on stellar career

The Bishop Street native has played with some of the club’s best talent and as he reflects on his distinguished career, the former midfielder discusses his successes, favourite goals and names the best Derry team he played with during a decade of service.

Molloy, who joined Derby County as a 15 year-old, also recalls playing against Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas and names Man City legend, Giorgi Kinkladze as one of the best players he’s ever played with.

The former Brandywell Harps youth, who also represented Drogheda United, Finn Harps and Crusaders, reveals some light-hearted moments such as being impersonated by Derry City teammate, Sean Hargan during a post-match interview and how he was forced to sing an Ed Sheeran classic in front of 200 people at a black tie event at Crusaders.

Having played under John Gregory, Paul Doolin, Stephen Kenny, Pat Fenlon, Ollie Horgan and Stephen Baxter, we find out whom he rates as his best manager, how he predicted Stephen Kenny would become Ireland manager 14 years ago and discover his biggest regret and which of his former teammates would receive the first invite to a party in a warts-and-all Q&A . . . .

What’s your favourite memory on the pitch?

My favourite memory with Derry would be winning the FAI Cup in 2012. It was definitely my highlight and having the kids on the pitch with me afterwards - that was hard to beat. St. Pat’s were strong favourites and a cracking team but on the day we were just a bit better than them.

That would be my highlight but my favourite football memory in general would be one of my first ever games when I played centre forward for Brandywell Harps believe it or not. I always remember my mum coming to see it and watching when I scored and celebrated.

That’s one of my nicest football memories. It was the first time I played football properly and I realised I was half decent. My mum was always the one to support me and to see her at the game, and for her seeing me score, it was a nice feeling.

Who was the best manager you’ve ever worked with?

I’ve had some cracking managers, even when I was at Derby, but you can’t look past Stephen Kenny. His man-management was the best I’ve seen in terms of getting players to play 20 percent above their station. It’s exciting times now he’s managing Ireland.

I remember saying when he left in 2006, in an interview after we won the cup, I said to the reporter; ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the Ireland manager’s job in the future’ and here we are. People were looking at me like I had two heads but I genuinely believed it. It’s just an amazing achievement and it’s great that I’ve actually worked under him because it’s exciting times for Ireland.

The one big blotch in his career is Dunfermline where he was very unlucky not to keep them up and they were beaten by Celtic in the cup final. Apart from that, in Ireland his time at Rovers was probably his only negative but if the fans and board at Rovers had stuck with him, think what they could’ve achieved and it’s great to see him do so well because he’s a great man and a great manager.

He was 100 per cent fair and gave people their chances. He wasn’t afraid to drop people either. It didn’t matter who you were. If you weren’t performing you were out of the team and that’s another reason why people respected him. Even when you think of the 2006 season and the players who didn’t get playing for Derry at the time and he kept everyone happy which shows you his man-management.

What was the best Derry City team you played for?

That has to be the 2006 team. The squad was unbelievable. We had some cracking players at centre half, centre midfield, centre forward. Players all over the pitch were unreal and Kenny could make six, seven or eight changes and the team was always strong, so that had to be the best team.

We had the likes of Paddy McCourt, Mark Farren, Gary Beckett, Peter Hutton - people who were playing at the top of their game. We were a match for anyone and were very unlucky not to secure the treble that year.

That season was just non-stop. It was amazing because we played a game every four days and never seemed to get tired. Every game was like a cup final as we were going for the league, had the League Cup final and then the latter rounds of the FAI Cup in between all the European games.

It went too quick but it was an unbelievable season to be involved in. Thirty games in you wouldn’t have thought we came so close to doing a treble but it was absolutely brilliant. And the fact Stephen came back from Dunfermline, it just showed you how much Derry meant to him at the time as well.

So what was the special ingredient which made that team so great?

The team spirit was very good. The lads enjoyed a night out but they knew when to knuckle down as well and be serious. I think Stephen was very good at managing us that way. He knew the lads would go and enjoy a few beers but as long as they worked their socks off the next day in training and did the right thing then he wouldn’t be too bothered.

The dressing room looked after itself. It had a good mix between the experienced lads like (Gary) Beckett and ‘Pizza’ and there were some great characters like ‘Hargy’ and Stephen O’Flynn. It was an unbelievable dressing room. There were some great lads in there and it’s a time I’ll never forget.

You had that core of local, Derry players too. Myself, Paddy (McCourt), Kevin (Deery), Ruaidhri (Higgins) and Pizza (Peter Hutton) - that Derry core was very special at the time and there weren’t too many clubs like that apart from Cork maybe who were surrounded by local lads. We had a lot of outstanding players but everyone bought into what Stephen was trying to achieve, that’s why we did so well.

Which opposition player never gave you a kick?

There were a few cracking players I played against. The three players, off the top of my head, would be Kevin Hunt from Bohs. He was outstanding. When I was with Drogheda he was probably the best midfielder in the league and always tough to play against.

You also had Keith Fahy at Pat’s who was outstanding on his day again. You would try to get close to him and couldn’t - he was technically unbelievable. More recently Joe N’Do. I always enjoyed the battles with him and Stephen Kenny would always try and get me wound up to mark him. But again, on his day, if he wanted to play there was nothing you could do about him.

Best player you’ve played with or against?

In the League of Ireland you can’t look past Paddy McCourt. What he went on to achieve has been unbelievable. It’s a shame his fitness levels dipped a bit at times when at Celtic because he could’ve gone on to do even more amazing things.

I was also fortunate to play against some cracking players in England in the youth team at Derby as well, players like Wayne Rooney and Fabregas and Georgi Kankladze who was at Derby as well. He was unbelievable. When you think of Paddy McCourt this guy was on a different level again. He fell out with the manager at the time and played in the reserves where I was. When he wanted to play there was no stopping him - he was a genius.

Who did you enjoy scoring against the most and what was your best ever goal?

Two stick out. They were against two of our big, big rivals. During my first year at Derry, Cork were the team to beat. I had just got into the team and was playing against probably the best midfield in the league in Joe Gamble and Georgie O’Callaghan.

Obviously people remember the goal but I got ‘man of the match’ because people were giving me a bit of stick before that as I was injured and stuff. So that goal was something special as people began to sit up and think, ‘This guy isn’t a bad player’. So that was the start of it for me at Derry.

But my favourite goal has to be the header against Linfield. That Setanta Cup tournament was class. I used to love playing against Glentoran and Linfield - you always raised your game. That night we were 1-0 down and going out of it. I don’t score too many goals but it was amazing to score in that game.

Best match you’ve ever been involved in?

It’s difficult to pick one out. In 2006 we had some massive games against Shels. They were big games where we just edged them out at Brandywell. The cup finals are always the big ones and the two I won against St Pat’s are hard to beat.

Everything about the day, the suits, the whole build-up and especially the one where we were down three times (2006). The emotions are crazy. You concede and you’re devastated and then you score and you’re ecstatic. It was 120 minutes of madness. That would be probably the best game - in 2006.

Best teamtalk from a manager?

You could write a book about the wee things Stephen Kenny does. He’s a genius at getting players up for games. He had his own routine where he would take off his jacket, roll up his sleeves.

But the thing which stood out for me was when players were playing against their old teams, he always got them playing. He would challenge you to prove yourself against them because they didn’t want you anymore. ‘This manager said you’re more or less not good enough’ he would say.

So he got players out with fire in their belly and always got the best out of players against their old teams. He just knew what to say to every individual player. He could put his arm around their shoulder or give them a kick up the arse and it worked for every single player. You had people like ‘Hargy’ and ‘Pizza’ in your team who were Stephen’s players on the pitch as well but he was an excellent manager.

Any regrets?

Not winning the league with Derry is the big one. We won the First Division and it was a great achievement but it’s nothing compared to winning the Premier Division title. The two leagues, we were very, very close and that was hard to take. And in the Setanta Cup Final we lost to Crusaders - that was a bad one. We just didn’t show up on the day. We were really poor and it was a chance to be champions of Ireland and we failed.

In 2007 Stephen (Kenny) went to Dunfermline and I had an opportunity to go with him but it just wasn’t right at the time. He was under a bit of pressure at the time and I decided against it. I didn’t want to be stuck in Scotland with a manager I didn’t know. I was 22 or 23. The only reason I would’ve gone was because Stephen was there but the thought of him losing the job and me being stuck at the club didn’t appeal to me.

It could’ve been different at Derby too. A lot of people in football will tell you, you need a bit of luck along the way at times, Maybe I didn’t have it to push me onto to first team level but I was in the good books with the manager at the time, John Gregory, but the manager who came in afterwards (Mark Lillis) just didn’t fancy me. At the end of the day I don’t think I was good enough to make the grade at Derby but I stuck with it and made a decent career out of it in the end.

Did you retire too soon?

I had a few opportunities when I left Derry to go to a few Irish League teams. Crusaders is a great club with a great manager and we had great players but the pitch was probably a big factor in not recovering the way I wanted to after (knee) surgery. I could’ve gone to a few other clubs but you make your decisions at that time and stick by them. I was just gutted I didn’t have a good crack at Crusaders because I wanted to make a bigger impact while I was there, but, what can you do?

A lesser known fact about yourself?

I was actually a centre forward growing up - a goalscoring centre forward. It’s hard for me to tell my son I used to be a forward because out in the backyard I can barely score, never mind for Derry City. I was signed by Derby County as a striker!

The first teammate you would invite to a party and why?

Probably Gerard Doherty. He’s good craic. He loves a beer and he’s a good fighter as well so if I ever got into a scrap he could look after me. I have to keep in with Gerard!

Any advice you would give to a young player coming through?

I think some of us lads went away to England too early. We were 14 or 15 and moving away from your family at that age is very difficult. Obviously it’s hard to turn down when a club wants to sign you but you’ve seen during the past 10 or 15 years the amount of players who went from Ireland after a few years in the league it toughens them up and gets them ready for the tough atmosphere they’re going into. If young players can cut it in the League of Ireland first and then go to England I think that’s be best for them.

Would you ever consider getting into coaching or management?

No. I coach my wee boy’s team in England but that’s as far as I would go. Myself and the likes of Ruaidhri Higgins are two different levels., He has this brain where he sees things I would never be able to see.

I would never want to have a negative impact on someone I was coaching if I wasn’t able to pass good qualities or ideas on the way I’d want and I don’t think I have the knowledge of football that the likes of Ruaidhri has.

What about auditioning for the X-Factor?

My singing days are done. I do enjoy keeping fit and my next venture is to try a half marathon or something like that. But on the singing, the first year I signed for Crusaders they were getting all the new players up to sing and I managed to miss out on it so I thought ‘happy days, they’ve forgotten about me’.

However, about six months later at Stephen Baxter’s testimonial, which was a big black tie event with the board members and that, Sean O’Neill took the mike and announced, ‘We have a player here who has to sing an initiation song and I knew straight away it was me. There were about 200 people there and I had to go up but I did alright.

Can you recall a stand-out funny moment during your playing career?

There were some unbelievable characters like Flynner (Stephen O’Flynn) and all the young boys coming through like Paddy (McEleney) and Shane McEleney who was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. There are loads of funny stories. One that springs to mind is after Stephen left.

Pat Fenlon came in and we were playing away to Sligo. I think we won 2-0 and I managed to score. This reporter came in and was asking could he speak to Barry Molloy. ‘Hargy’ came out and said; ‘Aye, that’s me, that’s me’. So Hargy went and did the interview with this reporter who obviously thought he was Barry Molloy.

Hargy was saying the stupidest things and the reporter actually put it all in the article. He was saying things like, ‘I want to go through the season unbeaten and without conceding a goal’ and the reporter put it all in.

It was unbelievable and people were probably looking at it in the league thinking ‘This Barry Molloy is an arrogant so and so’ but it wasn’t even me it was Hargy!

He told me in the changing rooms afterwards what he said but I never thought the reporter would use it. Three or four days later it was in the paper.

How do you think the FAI should play out the remainder of the League of Ireland season?

It's a very difficult situation that the world is in at the minute so it's very difficult to make these kinds of decisions. The fact that the season is only five games deep is a positive in that sense.

The season could be kicked off again in the months of June or July and carried into November/December time or beyond if needed. As we all know the off season is very long for League of Ireland.

Begin next season in April 2021 and you could hopefully get back to normality. The FAI will have to help the clubs financially if this is the case as the amount of revenue that has been lost by clubs will take a lot time to recover from. It's a delicate situation and any decision has to be made when there is 100% certainty that football is safe to return for everyone involved. I believe that should be the case in every walk of life

How far do you think Declan Devine can take this Derry City team?

It's a very difficult job at the minute for any manager trying to compete with the clubs like Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers. These two clubs in particular can't be matched in terms of finances or contract lengths.

Finishing in a European place would be superb for Derry in terms of finances and also attracting players to the club. Declan wants to win trophies so I'm sure he will try to win silverware every year. Finishing with European qualification and a good cup run is achievable.

Trying to improve on last year's position will be tough but can happen once the team finds its feet. So I'm hoping for a cup win and finishing third or fourth. Winning trophies and continually qualifying for Europe will hopefully attract the higher calibre of player. It will be difficult to win the league in my opinion but hopefully Declan can do it.