CARSON, Calif. – Prior to joining Chivas USA, Shalrie Joseph had only visited Southern California for games. Nowadays, he is feeling right at home.
Having been a bona fide SoCal resident for nearly three weeks, the transition to the West Coast has been rather smooth for the Grenadian midfielder. And with each passing day, adjusting to his new surroundings only gets better.
“Every day is a plus for me,” Joseph told MLSsoccer.com.
A stunning deal brought Joseph to Chivas on Aug. 1. The longtime Revolution standout found himself on the outs with his former side but has been an immediate fixture in the Rojiblancos lineup, having gone the full 90 minutes in each of his two outings so far with his new club.
Joseph credits his bosses and teammates for making the transition rather seamless.
“Working with a good staff, a knowledgeable staff, they know the game of soccer very well so I come in every day and try and pick up tidbits from them,” Joseph said. “With the players, they’ve been so encouraging and so positive that you come in here and makes it fun for practice.”
Joseph though was brought over with the hopes of helping Chivas improve their playoff chances, but thus far the club has not received much help in the race for a postseason spot. Joseph’s first outing was a SuperClasico rout at the hands of the LA Galaxy while the club salvaged a point with a come-from-behind draw at Colorado over the past weekend.
While his move west has gone rather smoothly, what matters most is the table, he said.
“You still have to translate onto the field,” he said. “We’re two games in and we’ve only gotten one point so far and it’s not really the result we’ve been looking for.”
One area where Joseph could help the club is with its dismal goal output. Chivas USA had scored just 14 goals prior to Joseph’s arrival. One goal in two games with Joseph is not quite the yield that may have been expected, but he now is aware of some of the issues behind the meager output.
“We’re not creating enough chances,” he said. “More chances gives you a higher percentage. Our forwards have done well to hold the ball and keep possession for us as a team but we haven’t been dangerous enough as a team, especially around the 18- to 20-yard line.”
The hope going forward now is that Joseph’s presence leads to more of an offensive presence in the coming games.
“We’ve got to do that. We’ve got to be able to create chances, get inside the box, get shots on goal,” he said. “We haven’t been doing that the last two games.”
Luis Bueno covers Chivas USA for MLSsoccer.com and can be reached by e-mail at buenodad@gmail.com.
