Pros

Joseph asks for trade and expects to get it By Andrew Hush
March 20, 2007

Shalrie Joseph has asked to be traded from the New England Revolution and expects the club to honor his request, according to the Grenadian midfielder’s agent.

Ron Waxman spoke to Soccer New England on Monday and revealed that Joseph has already made his request to the Revs and would sign for any of the other twelve clubs in MLS.

Shalrie Joseph (Photo by Chris Aduama - Photoplay)

“The plan right now is for him to continue training with the club while we hope they, in good faith, try to trade him,” said Waxman. “We hope they will honor his request. We are saying that it is not working out here, please trade him anywhere else.”

Meanwhile, the Revolution front office is remaining tight-lipped about the situation.

“Our position is pretty straightforward at this point,” said Revolution Director of Soccer, Michael Burns, on Monday. “Obviously, it is their prerogative to go public if they choose to do so, which they did. However, we are not going to engage in a dialogue through the media on player personnel matters. We will speak directly with Shalrie on the matter and we’ll go from there.”

Burns refused to comment on whether Joseph had asked to be traded and would also not be drawn on published reports that stated that a ‘final offer’ of a new contract had been made by the club to Joseph. However, he did acknowledge that Joseph remains part of the New England plans and that a solution to the situation is not out of the question.

“That is no secret. (Joseph) has been a key member of this team and we hope that he continues to be a key member of this team.”

The decision of New England’s 2005 team MVP and 2006 Defender of the Year comes following the breakdown of talks over a new contract, with the main stumbling block being the bonuses that Joseph would receive over the first two years of the new deal.

“On the first two years, which are guaranteed, we are $10,000 apart on salary and the rest is the bonuses and it is less than you think on that, as to how far we are apart on that,” said Waxman. “They offered, honestly, one of the worst bonus packages I have ever seen.

“Under my bonus package, Shalrie can make roughly another $55,000 in bonuses. To make that, he would have to start in 75% of games, be an all-star, be either the team MVP or the team defensive MVP, be selected all-league and he would have to start in ten games which the team wins. If he did all that, he would make $55,000 in bonuses. Who would look at that and say ‘wow, this guy really robbed us’.”

Following the first two guaranteed years, Waxman admitted that there were more differences between the two negotiating sides over option years and the base salary Joseph would be paid in them. Those disagreements, however, ‘can be overcome’, added Waxman.

Waxman said that he was disappointed by the way his client has been treated in recent months, following the rejection by the Revolution and MLS of two transfer bids from Scottish champions, Celtic. The first rebuttal came in the summer of 2006, by which time Joseph had already explored the possibility of renegotiating his current contract, which began in 2005 and runs until the end of 2008.

“Last year, we went to the Revolution when he had just finished the first year of his new contract. If they had wanted to give him a Chris Armas-type deal (which sees the Chicago Fire captain earn $325,000 per year) and lock him in long-term on good money, he was willing to not even think about ever going overseas. He was willing to be the leader of this club for as long as anyone wants. No one – not the league or the Revolution – was interested in having that conversation with me, basically. Okay, fine.

“Then Celtic come calling in mid-season and (MLS) said that it was after their transfer window and they wouldn’t be able to replace him. I understood. I disagreed, but I understood. I wasn’t mad, I was disappointed.

“We hoped that Celtic would remain interested in the off-season and they were. Celtic made the exact same transfer offer that they had made in the middle of the season. All of a sudden, the response was ‘that’s not good enough, it’s got to be much higher’. So they have denied his transfer twice.”

Waxman’s disappointment that the differing reasoning for the refusal of the two identical offers is clear, as is his feeling that the Revolution are getting more than value for the money they are currently paying Joseph, who earned a reported base salary of $167,500 in 2006.

“Nothing would make the Revolution happier than having him play out this current contract,” said Waxman. “Think about it. They have got a guy vastly underpaid that barely shows up on their books. My feeling is that, if had been with any other club over these last four years and done anything like he has done, the other clubs would value him more than the Revolution are currently valuing him.

“We don’t think he is ever going to be properly valued by the Revolution so we are saying ‘let him go to any of the other clubs’. Let him play there for a year and our hope is that, in a year, the coach and general manager of that club will call up and we can get a deal done then.”

Waxman is adamant the Revolution have the financial resources to give Joseph what he is asking for – ‘Shalrie would not be a designated player; not at all because they have allocation money available’ – and does concede that he feels the club feels it has made a good offer.

Waxman’s reasoning for requesting a trade to another MLS club centers on his belief that, over time, Joseph would be paid what he feels he is worth. The apparent ‘final offer’ he has received in New England means that such an outcome is unlikely – in either the short or long-term – with his current club.

“Let him play (elsewhere) for a year and our hope is that, in a year, the coach and general manager of that club will call up and say ‘wow, this guy is a real leader, you know, he plays hurt’ and we can get a deal done then.”

Waxman is sure that Joseph will be in high demand from clubs across the country:

“I happen to know there are several clubs that would be interested in trading for him. I don’t know what they would offer; I haven’t discussed the specifics of any trade. I don’t know if any offers have been made."

For now, Waxman said, Joseph will continue to ‘be a pro’, in the hope and expectation that he will traded. In the short-term, that means he will report back for pre-season training on Wednesday with his current teammates. What happens next, continues the agent, is up the Revolution.

“He loves the fans in New England and he loves playing for the Revolution. It’s sad, believe me. We did not make this decision lightly. I think the coaches would like to see him stay. Steve (Nicol) loves him and he would love to see him stay.

“Believe me, we are both sad that this is not happening with the Revolution. They have to come back to the table and I don’t think they are prepared to do that.”