Sean Rea

[narduch]

4 minutes ago, Atlantic said:

On trial with Portland https://www.timbers.com/news/timbers-announce-2024-preseason-training-camp-roster

Portland loves Canadians

[Obinna]

10 minutes ago, Atlantic said:

On trial with Portland https://www.timbers.com/news/timbers-announce-2024-preseason-training-camp-roster

Nice. Kid is too talented to not get another shot elsewhere. Hope he makes an impression on Portland.

[Dominic94]

He could make it, I think Losada screwed him last year.

[InglewoodJack]

If not with Portland, it’ll be with someone, he’s too good not to make it. Portland’s other trialee is actually Harvey Neville, son of Phil.

I hope he sticks with Portland- that’ll be 4 Canadians on the Timbers side, and with Jessie Fleming moving to the Thorns, that’ll be 3 on the women’s side. 7 Canadians playing pro ball in the great state of Oregon.

[Stryker911]

4 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

If not with Portland, it’ll be with someone, he’s too good not to make it. Portland’s other trialee is actually Harvey Neville, son of Phil.

I hope he sticks with Portland- that’ll be 4 Canadians on the Timbers side, and with Jessie Fleming moving to the Thorns, that’ll be 3 on the women’s side. 7 Canadians playing pro ball in the great state of Oregon.

5.

[InglewoodJack]

7 minutes ago, Stryker911 said:

5.

Forgot about ZMG, lol.

[Obinna]

Portland Impact, or CF Montreal Timbers?

[CanadaFan123]

17 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

If not with Portland, it’ll be with someone, he’s too good not to make it. Portland’s other trialee is actually Harvey Neville, son of Phil.

I hope he sticks with Portland- that’ll be 4 Canadians on the Timbers side, and with Jessie Fleming moving to the Thorns, that’ll be 3 on the women’s side. 7 Canadians playing pro ball in the great state of Oregon.

Cringe. Since he’s going for all Canadians I’m actually cheering for him but this is like making the same mistake twice. Just get on with your respective careers and if you’re good enough it’ll work out. 

[InglewoodJack]

46 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Cringe. Since he’s going for all Canadians I’m actually cheering for him but this is like making the same mistake twice. Just get on with your respective careers and if you’re good enough it’ll work out. 

Isn’t he a legit player though? Looks like he got some decent minutes for Miami last year. No clue how good he is though. I’ll cut Neville some slack from the perspective that I figure that it’s pretty hard to differentiate yourself at the MLS trialee level, so if he has an in because his dad is the coach, at least he can prove himself. 
 

Speaking of nepo players, Romeo Beckham is still somehow with Brentford’s reserves- I could’ve sworn he was playing for Inter Miami II like 4 years ago. Figured he’d have transitioned into a socialite by now. Good for him for keeping the dream alive. 

[downtownordinary]

19 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Forgot about ZMG, lol.

And Keesean Ferdinand is still with Timbers 2 I think.  Someone in the Timbers organization have a Quebec scouting connection? 

[CanadaFan123]

7 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Isn’t he a legit player though? Looks like he got some decent minutes for Miami last year. No clue how good he is though. I’ll cut Neville some slack from the perspective that I figure that it’s pretty hard to differentiate yourself at the MLS trialee level, so if he has an in because his dad is the coach, at least he can prove himself. 
 

Speaking of nepo players, Romeo Beckham is still somehow with Brentford’s reserves- I could’ve sworn he was playing for Inter Miami II like 4 years ago. Figured he’d have transitioned into a socialite by now. Good for him for keeping the dream alive. 

That’s the point though - if he’s a legit player why is he on trial with dad’s team for his second pro opportunity? Only 21 - surely if he’s legit he can get trials elsewhere. It’s just a bad scenario for both of them.

 

Edit: from last season https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12148191/amp/Phil-Neville-steps-defend-son-fans-booed-pitch.html

 

Edited January 24 by CanadaFan123

[InglewoodJack]

4 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

That’s the point though - if he’s a legit player why is he on trial with dad’s team for his second pro opportunity? Only 21 - surely if he’s legit he can get trials elsewhere. It’s just a bad scenario for both of them.

 

Edit: from last season https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12148191/amp/Phil-Neville-steps-defend-son-fans-booed-pitch.html

 

I just think there’s an incredibly large pool of “maybe good enough for MLS as a depth piece” players, and having that connection probably made him stick out and get an opportunity. I think half or more of the CPL could probably go on trial somewhere in the MLS, so you need a bit of luck to actually get that call.

You may be right and maybe he isn’t good, but I think MLS is quality enough where if he sucks, he won’t make it, and this problem will sort itself out. 

[CanadaFan123]

Just now, InglewoodJack said:

I just think there’s an incredibly large pool of “maybe good enough for MLS as a depth piece” players, and having that connection probably made him stick out and get an opportunity. I think half or more of the CPL could probably go on trial somewhere in the MLS, so you need a bit of luck to actually get that call.

You may be right and maybe he isn’t good, but I think MLS is quality enough where if he sucks, he won’t make it, and this problem will sort itself out. 

To be clear, I’m not saying he isn’t good. I’m just questioning why this is happening. Dad is likely on his last head coaching opportunity if this goes wrong. 

[InglewoodJack]

9 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

To be clear, I’m not saying he isn’t good. I’m just questioning why this is happening. Dad is likely on his last head coaching opportunity if this goes wrong. 

For sure, I'm just saying there's a million guys good enough to go on trial in MLS, you need some way to stick out above the others, and his way is the coach being his dad, and he's also coached his kid before. I'd be shocked if he is signed and Rea isn't- that would make me question these things a bit more. 

[PegCityCam]

3 days late but might as well post this:

 

[InglewoodJack]

Looks like he’s headed to CD Castellon:

https://x.com/niltonjorge/status/1763575603008041167?s=46&t=spIaqlQfufAO3HreB1455Q

Had NextPro, CPL, USL, Greek, Romanian, and Série C offers. 
 

Castellon is in the 3rd division but in first. Their owner is Haralabos Voulgaris who I didn’t actually know was Canadian. I remember him as being the director of Analytics for the Dallas Mavericks and according to what I heard, he was basically the Mark Cuban Whisperer and was mostly the guy calling the shots- I think the coaches/players didn’t like that too much. Think he had issues with doncic.

Edited March 1 by InglewoodJack

[costarg]

19 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Their owner is Haralabos Voulgaris who I didn’t actually know was Canadian.

Never heard of him, just read up, what a story/life this guy has.

[InglewoodJack]

8 minutes ago, costarg said:

Never heard of him, just read up, what a story/life this guy has.

Oh yeah, and he’s also a successful professional gambler. I found out about this guy back when he was with the Maverick- there were rumours that he was actually the one setting Rick Carlisle’s lineups, he had final approval on Dallas’ draft picks, and it was heavily implied that his staying in Dallas was going to be a hurdle in getting doncic to sign his supermax deal and their ability to attract other stars to surround him with. There’s a pretty damning Athletic article about him for anyone with a subscription.

I think he probably works better for a club like Castellon than an NBA team. I think his analytical prowess can help a small club climb the ladder but I think his arrogance and belief that his understanding of numbers is more important than athletic or sports management experience probably makes it difficult for him to manage a team with star players.

 

Also, JJD just tweeted that apparently this deal is contingent on Castellon’s promotion, but Rea will be in Spain playing with their reserves and training with the first team until this summer. Not sure what that means or what happens if they don’t get promoted. 

[Footyeh]

3 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Looks like he’s headed to CD Castellon:

https://x.com/niltonjorge/status/1763575603008041167?s=46&t=spIaqlQfufAO3HreB1455Q

Had NextPro, CPL, USL, Greek, Romanian, and Série C offers. 
 

Castellon is in the 3rd division but in first. Their owner is Haralabos Voulgaris who I didn’t actually know was Canadian. I remember him as being the director of Analytics for the Dallas Mavericks and according to what I heard, he was basically the Mark Cuban Whisperer and was mostly the guy calling the shots- I think the coaches/players didn’t like that too much. Think he had issues with doncic.

This is the team that made a loan offer to VWFC for Habibullah in the summer.  Good club, on the verge of promotion.

[rydermike]

9 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Also, JJD just tweeted that apparently this deal is contingent on Castellon’s promotion, but Rea will be in Spain playing with their reserves and training with the first team until this summer. Not sure what that means or what happens if they don’t get promoted. 

If you only want to sign with them for next season if they're promoted but are going to train for the rest of the season, why not just sign with them for this season only and help them get promoted and then either walk or re-sign?

Unless because its third tier, maybe there is a limit on internationals and they are already at it?

[narduch]

Just now, rydermike said:

If you only want to sign with them for next season if they're promoted but are going to train for the rest of the season, why not just sign with them for this season only and help them get promoted and then either walk or re-sign?

Unless because its third tier, maybe there is a limit on internationals and they are already at it?

Is it possible the free transfer window is closed for this league?

I don't know

[Kent]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:51 AM, InglewoodJack said:

Isn’t he a legit player though? Looks like he got some decent minutes for Miami last year. No clue how good he is though. I’ll cut Neville some slack from the perspective that I figure that it’s pretty hard to differentiate yourself at the MLS trialee level, so if he has an in because his dad is the coach, at least he can prove himself. 
 

Speaking of nepo players, Romeo Beckham is still somehow with Brentford’s reserves- I could’ve sworn he was playing for Inter Miami II like 4 years ago. Figured he’d have transitioned into a socialite by now. Good for him for keeping the dream alive. 

I hadn't even heard of Harvey Neville before catching up on this thread just now, but a bit of googling has revealed to me that he made 11 appearances with Miami last season, with the 10th being the final game that his dad managed the team. After that he made one more appearance a few weeks later. He also had 2 appearances for the B team after his dad was fired. That's it. No information about any injuries on transfermarkt.

[Unnamed Trialist]

17 hours ago, narduch said:

Is it possible the free transfer window is closed for this league?

I don't know

If he's out of contract, they could pick him up. Except they no longer have any spots left for the first team, as speculated above, nothing to do with him being a foreigner don't think. Being a u-23, he could sign and play for the B team, in fifth tier 3rd Federación or 3a RFEF. They play in a Valencia region division, are mid table, could make a run for promotion playoff, and need strikers from what I can see.

Castellón just approved a new budget in early February, doubling it from 6 to 12 million. Half of that is to go to salaries, which would put them up quite there for the division, where salary minimums are at around CPL levels (there is a scale for third tier, where if you don't have certain tv and other revenues you can pay less). But if you calculate 6 million for 25 players, it is clear you are talking about MLS journeyman levels, over 200,000 on average. 

That budget would give them the highest of all teams in the 2 divisions, along with or just below Deportivo de la Coruña. And just below Málaga, who they are above in the table.

Voulgaris has just restructured the entire board, the consultant board members who came with him from the States are gone, he is looking for new ones. They are trying to renegotiate the lease on the stadium, find land for a training centre. A year ago they set up the programme to pay off existing previous debts. He openly says he wants to get to 1st division in 3-5 years.

CPL connection already mentioned: Ramon Soria who was at Edmonton is scouting or recruiting director, has been since Jan 2023. I would imagine this is his doing.

Edited March 2 by Unnamed Trialist

[Unnamed Trialist]

Looks like this is confirmed, this is from yesterday morn. He's signed for the B team, in Tercera Federación (fifth tier), will play with them but can train with the first team, in third tier. The contract is just until the end of the season. So they'll have to redo it for next season: perhaps this is because if they promote to Second Division the minimum salaries are higher, and the entire salary structure will be redone.

Turns out Sean has an Italian passport through one of his grandfathers.

https://www.fundacioalbinegra.com/fichaje-cdcs-b-sean-rea/

Official

https://www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com/cd-castellon/2024/03/05/sean-rea-fichaje-presente-futuro-99062973.html

Local press

Edited March 6 by Unnamed Trialist

[Unnamed Trialist]

Wow, he had his debut for Castellon B last night!

They beat Gandia in their 3a Federación match (fifth tier), coming back to win 3-1, and he came on m. 78 and they put him as striker. They play in the smaller utility field.

One paper said this about him:

https://www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com/cd-castellon/2024/03/08/cronica-castellon-b-exhibe-frente-gandia-triunfo-remontada-marquina-99214512.html

"With all that, even the Canadian Sean Rea had his debut, a player who has only been with the B team a week. He played well up high, despite being a midfielder. He'll improve. He has the makings of a footballer."

"A todo ello, debutó hasta el canadiense Sean Rea, jugador que apenas lleva una semana en el filial. Jugó muy arriba, a pesar de ser mediocentro. Mejorará. Tiene madera de futbolista."

Another paper said this:

https://golsmedia.com/comunidad-valenciana/futbol/tercera-rfef/grupo-6/2024/03/08/cd-castellon-b-remonta-gandia-gran-racha-mete-pugna-por-promocion/

" En el minuto 79 se producía el debut de Sean Rea, el nuevo fichaje del Castellón, centrocampista canadiense prometedor. "

"In minute 79 there was the debut of the new signing of Castellón, Sean Rea, a promising Canadian midfielder"