The Wanderer Grounds podcast: Who stays and who goes this Halifax Wanderers offseason?

One year after a near-complete overhaul that saw a coaching change and a carousel of new faces, the Halifax Wanderers are in somewhat unfamiliar territory entering their offseason: For once, the Canadian Premier League soccer club has a roster it would—mostly—like to keep together.

After a regular season finish that saw the Wanderers set club records for points (42), wins (11), goals scored (39) and total passes (13,000), among a host of other categories, the fifth-year CPL franchise has acquired a taste of something that has proven rather elusive in its history: Success. Three Halifax Wanderers—first-year centre-back Dan Nimick, French-born midfielder Lorenzo Callegari and feisty winger Massimo Ferrin—were chosen by their fellow players as among the 10 best players in the league. Callegari was nominated for Player of the Year. Nimick earned a nod for Defender of the Year. Head coach Patrice Gheisar—in his first year at the helm of a professional club—was in the running for Coach of the Year.

Now, the question looms: What will it take for this team to emerge as true title contenders? What pieces are missing? And what departures will the Wanderers likely need to plan for?

To answer the question, we invited two of the most-trusted voices on all things Wanderers—Down the Pub’s Anthony Abbott and Gary Griffiths—to a special episode of The Wanderer Grounds podcast.