Cale Loughrey is leaving the Halifax Wanderers but the club still has questions to solve on defence and in how they operate

Centre-back Cale Loughrey announced on Thursday that his time with the Wanderers is over.

"Halifax, my time here has come to an end. Beyond grateful to play for the fans and the city," he wrote online. "A time in my life that I will forever cherish."

The 23-year old defender played a pivotal role through two seasons in Halifax, making 43 appearances in all competitions, and often proved the perfect partner to the offensively-minded Dan Nimick.

However, with the Wanderers playoff hopes on life support, Loughrey eventually lost his place in head coach Patrice Gheisar's starting XI following a red card against Pacific FC on September 7. The club had an option on his contract but it's unclear who made the final call to end the Ajax-native's time on the East Coast.

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The truth of the matter is Loughrey's departure can be attributed to a few factors and the most important is perhaps that the Wanderers have a logjam on defence. Although Nimick and Zachary Fernandez are out of contract, the club currently has control of four centre-backs (Nassim Mekidèche, Jefferson Alphonse, Julian Dunn and Kareem Sow) and two full-backs (Wesley Timoteo and Riley Ferrazzo).

It's not guaranteed everyone's option will be exercised — with Alphonse, Dunn, Timoteo and Ferrazzo's futures still up in the air — but the foundation of next year's defensive corps is already in place. It's likely that most will return assuming that Nimick and Fernandez try to push for a move outside the CPL; both previously had interest and nixed transfers to higher levels and it's expected they'll explore that interest.

Speaking at his end of season availability, Gheisar said both the club and their free agents were assessing their options.

"We would love to retain a lot of them because I also don’t think we need massive change. Every stat we’ve shared shows we just need to manage moments, not bring in a new team," Gheisar told The Wanderers Notebook in October. "Long answer short, it’s unknown. We have to assess our options, they have to assess their options."

This is a sentiment the Wanderers echoed last off-season, retaining the bulk of their core after a successful 2023 campaign. However, with several high profile free agents this time around, it's interesting to look back at the moves the club didn't make last year.

One of the most interesting cases is Loughrey himself, who outworked former Canadian Men's National Team defender Doneil Henry to retain his spot alongside Nimick during Gheisar's inaugural season at the helm. As reported previously, sources told The Wanderers Notebook that Halifax received a credible offer for Loughrey's services from Scandinavia last off-season, the proposed sum clocking in at six-figures.

A year later, Loughrey has walked for nothing, which merits reflection on how the club operates.

This isn't meant to be overly critical of the Wanderers, although it's hard not to wonder if they'd do things differently with the benefit of hindsight. Instead, it's meant to point out how much can change in the span of a year and provides a good indication of the Wanderers' organizational objectives when it comes to asset management.

Simply put: the Wanderers are a club that has never won a trophy and is hungry to do so. They also highly prioritize developing a sustainable football landscape in Atlantic Canada and aim to develop young players — be it on their first team or through the development squad — for the long-term.

These objectives, however, aren't always the result.

Wanting a trophy explains why Wanderers sporting director Matt Fegan and Gheisar opted to retain Nimick, Fernandez and Loughrey through last off-season — they had aspirations of competing for silverware in 2024. And the second point, in a funny way, shows why the club and Loughrey have parted ways this year; they've prioritized investing time in other players.

The question, of course, begging to be asked is has the pursuit of a trophy, and ultimately losing assets for nothing, hurt the club's ability to give young players a chance? The club certainly doesn't think so, Gheisar having said on the record multiple times that he wants to develop young players instead of simply meeting a quota.

But it's one of several questions the club must consider this off-season as they decide who to keep and who to let walk. It's likely that several players who garnered interest and held value will leave for nothing. Loughrey is simply one of the first to go. Perhaps, it'll influence how the club decides between balancing present needs with future interests.

Cover Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan / Halifax Wanderers FC