Moloney blames 'poor recruitment' for Cobblers' struggles after title win

Within weeks of lifting aloft the League Two trophy back in 2016, Cobblers lost arguably the three main architects of their astonishing title success.

Manager Chris Wilder left for his boyhood club, Ricky Holmes was lured away by Charlton Athletic and Nicky Adams headed back up north for family reasons.

It left the Cobblers with some almighty holes to plug and if losing those three men was a bitter blow, failure to adequately replace them in the following transfer window only compounded the problem.

Rob Page was chosen as Wilder’s successor and with him came players that simply could not live up to the high expectations set by the class of 2016.

Town did not go down in their first season back in League One but a poor end to the campaign set the wheels in motion for relegation just 12 months later and all that good work achieved under Wilder went to waste.

“I actually really liked Rob Page when he came in but I think the recruitment was poor, very poor, if I’m honest,” admitted Moloney, speaking to the Chron.

“Sometimes it comes down to that and it just didn’t work out at all for us after winning the title, especially with Ricky going to Charlton and Nicky also leaving us.

“Ricky couldn’t really turn down that opportunity because it was closer to home and Charlton are a big club, but they were such important players for us.

“Things didn’t work work and for a long time the recruitment at the club wasn’t the best.”

Wilder leaving was undoubtedly the biggest blow but Moloney says he didn't blame him for taking up the opportunity to manage Sheffield United.

"It wasn't too much of a shock because there had been rumours that he was going to Charlton," he added.

"We kind of knew what would happen if bigger clubs with bigger budgets came in for him and he would take that chance.

"I wasn't sure if it would have gone to Charlton but when Sheffield United came in, we knew then that it would be a no-brainer with his history at the club. He might never have got that opportunity again.

"It would have been great for him to stay but we saw it coming and we couldn't blame him for going."

Having retired from football shortly after leaving the Cobblers in 2018, Moloney reflects on the title success as perhaps the pinnacle of his career.

That, though, just makes what followed harder to accept.

“It felt like a missed opportunity,” he confessed. “We really wanted to carry on the momentum and had we kept what we had from the season before in League Two, then who knows what might have happened.

“I know for a fact we would have a good season, how good you just never know, but you look back on it and wonder what might have been had we kept that squad together.

“That’s football though and there’s so much turnaround all the time. That’s just the way it is.”