HUWS GRAY ALLIANCE
CHARISMA TROPHIES PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Gary O'Toole of Gap Connahs Quay

Gay scored nine goals during the month as Gap Connahs Quay won four games. including a goal in the Welsh Cup quarter final win at Camarthen Town. This is Gary's second award of the season

Thurs 30 Dec 2010:- LEADING scorer for Gap Connah's Quay in the Huws Gray Alliance this season, striker Michael Hayes has been signed by Bala Town.

18 Dec 2010;- GARY O'TOOLE'S FIRST SEASON FOR NOMADS WAS IN 2005-6, WHEN HE CONTRIBUTED TO 'THE NOMADS GREAT ESCAPE’:- Formerly with Coventry City, Gary joined Nomads in late October 2005 as an 18yr old.

Nomads’ made a dreadful start to the 2005/6 season with one draw to show from the first nine league games. We were well behind the pack and hadn't scored in our four previous games. 20 yr old ex-Hearts and N Ireland U 21 midfielder Conall Murtagh signed in mid-October and a couple of weeks later Nev Powell signed 18yr old ex-Coventry City Youth frontman Gary O'Toole and Martin Robinson, a 17 yr old Liverpool student previously with Stoke City and N Ireland clubs Crusaders and Ballymena United,.

The rock-bottom Deesiders hadn’t scored in 363 minutes of football and although our three teenagers were welcome additions to the squad, Nomads struggle for survival had only just begun. On Nov 12th, a late Craig Hutchinson equaliser gave us our second point of the season at Porthmadog, but the following week, despite debut goal from Robinson, we lost 2-1 at Cwmbran. We still only had two points to show from our eleven league games.

Finally, the magic happened. On the 25th November 2005 at Deeside Stadium, We won our first WPL game of the season at the twelfth attempt with a 3-0 home success against derby rivals Airbus UK. Gary Pinch, signed from Witton Albion a week or two earlier, opened the scoring on 20 minutes and added another eight minutes from time.

Gary O'Toole got the second goal so both recent signings had scored their debut goals for Nomads to lift us to within four points of next-bottom Cefn Druids.

A week later, we won a bruising encounter at Aberystwyth 2-1, with red cards reducing them to 9 men before the end of the game. Then a third successive victory came on the 9th Dec 2005 and Nomads came off the foot of the Welsh Premier League for the first time that season. We beat fellow basement strugglers Cefn Druids 1-0 at the Deeside Stadium and consigned our opponents to bottom place. Ulsterman Martin Robinson scored his second goal in four games in the 29th minute; enough to give Neville Powell's Nomads a third win of the campaign.

Striker Tommy Mutton returned to Nomads from Rhyl at the start of Feb 2006. His return to the club was marked with a second-half double on 3 Feb 2006, as Nomads ended Welshpool Town's six-match unbeaten run with a 2-0 win on Deeside.

Tommys return provided only temporary respite for Nomads and following four successive defeats; we were looking like favourites for relegation with only six league games left.  

Our next game was another full-blooded encounter at home to Aberystwyth on the 8^th April. By half time Aberystwyth had already been reduced to 10 men by yet another red card and after 53 min’s, Tommy Mutton put Gary O'Toole through on goal and he fired low in to the far corner to open the scoring. Nomads held on to a 1-0 victory for our first win in five games to put us three points clear of 17th-placed Cwmbran.

Nomads ended the season with a remarkable six match unbeaten run, including victory over 2^nd placed Llanelli in our final home game. Gary had started in 22 games and scored 3 goals for Nomads by the end of a tumultuous season.

Neville Powell appointed Rhyl star Marc Limbert as Nomads new captain well before the start of the 2006/7 season and by the time the season was under way, as many as 25 players had already signed on. With 10 of the best of last seasons squad already signed, Graham Roche, Dave Swannick, Anthony Warriner, Adam Dickinson and Chris Sargeant signed from professional clubs and experienced players such as Gary Lovell, Chris McGinn, Chris Taylor, Phil McDiarmid, Craig Garside and Calvin Davies also signed up.

The strength of Nomads squad was such that whilst Nev Powell’s first choice players made an unbeaten start to the league season, the remaining squad players were successfully used for mid-week league cup games.

Gary, unable to get into Nomads first eleven, played for a much changed Nomads side that caused a major upset by beating The New Saints in Group B of the League Cup. Late goals from Gary and Calvin Davies, either side of a John Toner strike, gave Nomads a 2-1 home win, after a 6-1 victory in the opening League Cup group game with Airbus UK. This was Gary’s last goal before moving on to Caernarfon, until he returned to Nomads this season.

FORMER Connah's Quay captain and team mate Gary Pinch is one of several new signings for recently-appointed Welshpool boss Chris Herbert. 

The centre back has recently returned to the UK after a coaching stint in the United States and Herbert rates the new man as a 'major asset.'

A former Tranmere Rovers youth who was released by Brian Little and played for Accrington Stanley and Evo-Stik League Witton Albion before joining Connah's Quay, Pinch has scored three goals and made 59 (+8) Welsh Premier appearances for the Nomads in two spells since 2005.

"He will be a major asset to Welshpool as he has a wealth of experience," said Herbert.

"He is great at motivating the players for games, which is something that has been lacking. He is a tough tackling centre back, who would tackle his own granny to win the ball! Pinchy is well aware of our situation in the league and he said he can't wait to get in and show the Welshpool fans what he has got. Still only 24, Pinchy still has a big future now he is back from USA and im glad he chose to come to Welshpool ahead of other clubs, it shows we are attracting the players that a few weeks ago would not have taken a second look." 

Tue 16 Nov 2010:- WELSHPOOL have turned to Gap Connah's Quay striker Chris Herbert as the man to take over the managerial hotseat following the swift departure of Mike Barton.

A former Chester City youth and prolific scorer with West Cheshire League outfit Christleton, Herbert joined the Nomads in August 2007. Released a year later, he joined Flint Town United, returning to the Deeside Stadium as one of manager Jim Hackett's first signings in July 2009. The 32-year-old scored 12 goals from 29 (+24) Welsh Premier appearances before Quay's relegation to the Huws Gray Alliance at the end of last season.
"The club are delighted with the appointment as Chris is widely regarded to be a promising manager in the making," says a statement from the Maesydre outfit.
"He impressed in conversations with committee members as well as during the interview and everyone the club has spoken to with reference to him have given a glowing recommendation of his ability and character.
"It is felt he will be able to draw upon his contacts to very quickly strengthen the squad in key areas, making us very competitive for the rest of this season while building a team capable of beating anyone on their day, regardless of what league the club find itself in next season."

GAP Connah's Quay midfielder Stuart Cook was selected for the England Futsal squad that played double header friendly internationals against Israel at Hereford's Point 4 over the weekend.

The 23-year-old, who began his career with Stockport County and Sheffield United and is a product of the Altrincham youth set-up, joined the Nomads originally in season 2004/5 and then played for New Mills, before joining Bangor City in January 2009. He returned to Deeside during the close season and has made 35 (+54) Welsh Premier appearances to date.
Futsal is a rapidly expanding five-a-side version of the game with South American roots which is now endorsed by FIFA. 

Fri 4 Sep 2009:- Nomads still fighting name hijack

 GAP Connah's Quay have requested a hearing by the North Wales Coast FA over the continuing use of the name "Nomads" by newly-formed Nomads of Connah's Quay FC.
The rival club, which plies its trade in the Gwynedd League's Second Division, was formed by ex-Nomads' chairman and secretary Bobby Hunter after he was dismissed as a director of the Welsh Premier Nomads by owners Gap Personnel towards the end of last season.
Nomads' secretary Ally Bennett says the club has been asked by the NWCFA to produce a legal document proving the club has the right to use the name.
The word Nomads no longer appears in the club's name, because it would make the name too long according to Bennett, who says solicitors have advised that there should be no case to answer as the registered company has the name Gap Connah's Quay Nomads Ltd.

AFTER signing for Porthmadog in the close season, full-back Paul Dowridge has left the Traeth to return to Gap Connah's Quay without playing a competitive game for manager Tomi Morgan.
A former Cefn Druids player who started season 2004/5 with Airbus UK before signing for Welshpool, Dowridge became one of Steve O'Shaughnessy's first signings at the Nomads in July 2008.
He made a controversial move to Welshpool in September via Blacon Youth, where he never made an appearance, before deciding to follow his former manager Morgan to Port.
A highly experienced defender whose brother John has also appeared in the top flight, Dowridge has made 150 Welsh Premier appearances