Almost a week since Neil Gibson left Connah’s Quay and people are still asking the same question…..why?

Already this season we’d seen a Championship club in both England and Scotland get rid of their manager after just one league defeat.

I expected better of the Cymru Premier, so I’m still reeling after Connah’s Quay Nomads‘ announcement six days ago that they have parted company with their Welsh Cup winning manager Neil Gibson.

Quay had lost their first league match of the campaign, 1-0 at home to Haverfordwest County and two days later came the news the Deesiders’ manager was no longer in his role.

All the statements surrounding the departure have been short and very bog standard.

No-one has said why the parting of the ways took place, but Nomads didn’t have a ready-made replacement as they have advertised for a new manager.

Without any real indication of why Gibson has left Deeside Stadium, all people can do is speculate.

All I can say is that it is a very strange decision.

Neil Gibson is one of the best managers in Welsh football. He worked miracles to deliver Prestatyn Town Welsh Premier League status, a first-ever Welsh Cup success and a victory in Europe during his tenure.

And he achieved this largely through developing local talent.

A manager’s position at a club such as Nomads was a natural progression for Gibson. A club with a bigger budget and major ambition.

He was delivering the goods for sure.

Just four months ago, Nomads were the toast of Wales after beating The New Saints in the Welsh Cup final, denying the Oswestry full-timers yet another treble.

The manager and his staff were giving youth its opportunity and last season attained runners-up spot in the Cymru Premier – about the best that can be expected given the TNS dominance of recent seasons.

Just a few weeks ago, Nomads won 1-0 away against Slovenians NK Bravo in the Europa Conference League and looked set to advance to a lucrative next round berth.

Unfortunately, the Welsh side lost the home leg 2-0 and exited the competition. Disappointing, but still a very decent effort which at least boosted Wales’ hopes of a coveted top 50 Uefa spot in the coefficient table.

Still, there was plenty of cause for optimism ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, but one league loss at the very start of the season and it’s goodbye Gibbo.

Losing your first league game is not the end of the world – or it shouldn’t be.

Ryan Lowe of Preston North End and Raith Rovers’ Ian Murray were shown the door after an opening day defeat this month. Very harsh it seemed, but they didn’t win a national trophy last season, qualify for Europe or finish second in their division (admittedly an easier feat to pull off in Wales).

Based on results and achievement, and let’s face it we get that ‘it’s a results business’ cliche thrown in our faces often enough, Neil Gibson had done little wrong.

Highly-respected, the former Wales Under-21 international, has won many plaudits for his managerial progress and a nicer, more professional and meticulous man you could not wish to meet.

No-one’s said much about his departure at all, but on the whole this is I believe a big own goal from a club I respect and has served me well in the past.

Who’s going to come in and do a better job than Gibbo? That remains to be seen and people will be watching with interest what happens next.