Per Kyle McCarthy's twitter, Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph takes indefinite leave of absence from the club.
may be best to temper comments and not assume for the time being, the Revs short statement notes "personal matters". could be family related or something. wishing shalrie the best.
I think its probably 1 of 3 things 1. Serious Injury 2. Family issue (health or otherwise) 3. Problem with Revolution (teammates, coaches, FO, training staff) I get the feeling like whatever it is, he will be back to play this year by the all-star break
So, basically the Revolution's chances of winning consistently, "takes an indefinite leave of absence" too.
i hope something didn't happen to his fam, they all seem like really great people...met some of them in DC at the cup final. wishing shalrie the best.
He is a competitor, I doubt he would put personal issues with coaches or teammates above playing for the team. I'd lean towards family issues then health. Regardless the issue, the Revs can not keep playing like this. They need help in the midfield. the Phelan&Niouky pairing in the middle is just not working. Maybe when Osei gets healthy they could give him a run out there?
Thoughts out to Shalrie. He's earned our support. Bottom line, when he's here we win. When is isn't we don't. He's so much of our team.
Best to wait and see. I am inclined to agree that Shalrie is not the type to let any team issues get in the way of him trying his hardest.
Let's not jump to conclusions people. Whatever the circumstances may be let's keep him in our thoughts.
FYP... I can't imagine this is a problem with the team... there has been little change in the major players (except people leaving)... it is the same coach as when he signed his contract and management hasn't changed appreciably... I have to think it is family-related (if it was a problem with his health, I would expect that we would have heard something)... I hope that it all comes out OK for him and his family... he has certainly more than earned our support and that of the team....
The Globe has the story now. http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/blog/2010/04/revolutions_jos.html As for the speculation... 1. Its not a serious injury. It might be a serious medical condition, but you don't go on a leave of absence for an injury. 2. Its not a problem with the Revolution. You got one of those, you get traded to another team or sold. Until then, you keep playing to keep your value up. I wish him well and hope the issues get solved quickly so he can delight us with his prowess again soon. The term "boss the midfield" was created to describe Shalrie.
I'm going to preface my comment so I hopefully don't come across as a troll: I love watching Shalrie Joseph. If I were given one player in MLS to build a team around, he'd be my guy. And I wish he'd never been capped by Grenada before he signed with the Revs so he could have played for the US. I have nothing but praise and admiration for Joseph. That said, rarely is taking time off for "personal reasons" a good thing. Yes, every once in a while there's a sick relative or a need to tend to some pressing off-field business matters. But usually it's something like rehab or burnout or legal issues or getting someone unwittingly knocked-up and the like. Shalrie is such an intense competitor and has such a passion for the game, I just don't see him missing so much time by choice and if it is something family-related - and for the sake of his family, I hope it's not - he strikes me as the kind of guy to find a way to play through that while dealing with it. Again, I hope I'm wrong because I love watching the guy play, but I don't expect this to turn out to be time away for something innocuous.
Not going to speculate; wish Shalrie the best. He IS the heart of this team so obviously we all hope his situation will get sorted as quickly as possible for his own personal well being. Competitively and pragmatically speaking this is very bad news for the Revs in the immediate future. Phelouky isn't the answer in the middle of the park, that's obvious so we'd better get used to being out-possessed and manhandled by non-crap teams until Nicol finds a solution. Would love to see Osei move up to partner with Niouky.
From the team's website: http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=42715&pcid=115
Just also wanted to add that I am praying for him & that I wish him the best. He was gracious enough to let my daughter interview him just last month for a school project. Kind, considerate, and very patient. One of the best.
To echo Sandon's comments: Hope everything works out for him. He is a class player and one that any team in MLS would be lucky to have.
Same here. I've hated Shalrie b/c he's so damn good. Even though he's done a fair amount of damage to my team, at least as a fan of the beautiful game I got to see a brilliant player. I truly wish him the best, and I'm here to say I'm sincerely bummed for you guys.
I am sure something will leak out in the coming hours. It always does. Wish him the best and a speedy return