Straight Outta Brooklyn, And MLS?

Brooklyn's in the house. But perhaps not for long. New England Revolution captain and resident hardman, Shalrie Joseph is either as fiery a negotiator as he is a midfielder, or he wants out of New England and maybe Major League Soccer altogether.

The Brooklynite by way of Grenada kept it real with the Boston Globe stating, "I have been patient and I have been the good boy they wanted me to be, but I can't wait any more." Joseph's agent then provided the gory financial details before signing off with some good old-fashioned finger-pointing for those keeping score at home. "I have talked to Sunil [Gulati, president of Kraft Soccer] and Mike Burns [Revolution director of soccer] and requested to talk to Jonathan Kraft, but was denied."

Interesting strategy, calling out the Bosses in the newspapers. There are three possible reasons for Joseph to play Meet the Press with the season fast approaching: 1) He wants the Krafts to cough up the money (his agent specifically mentioned Chicago's Chris Armas, who makes $325,000 per year, over three years), 2) He wants MLS to find him another team who will give him the "Armas Money," or 3) He wants MLS to trade him to Glasgow Celtic, who The Globe report offered $2 million for the former St. John's University star.

Joseph is a charismatic, physical, crowd-pleasing All-Star, much like former teammate Clint Dempsey, who is now plying his trade with Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra at Fulham in the EPL. The Krafts of New England, however, don't get too attached to their players. Even Patriots. Unless of course, you're a Super Bowl-winning QB willing to restructure your contract to help the team stay under the salary cap, when you're not impregnating impossibly beautiful women. Then, they love you.

Back to Joseph. Here's hoping he re-signs with MLS, at New England or not. Anybody who can cover as much ground on the pitch as he does, while having the local press on speed dial during contract negotiations, is our kind of player.