Barça Needs To Clean House.

Barça’s disappointing culmination on what seemed to be a promising season is coming to a bitter end. The hopes of capturing the league crown remain miraculous at best since it is no longer in their hands. With the FIFA transfer ban on hiatus now, the club can make new signings. If the club’s proclamation that new players will be bought is true, then it’s time they clean house; from top to bottom.

This season has been a roller coaster for Barça fans with lots of highs and lows. It was also nostalgic to the 2003-2004 and the 2006-2007 seasons to which I alluded to earlier in the season. 2003-2004 saw two new managers, Frank Rijkaard and Carlos Queiroz, take charge at Barça and Madrid, while 2006-2007 was a nightmare of a season for the Blaugrana where they saw their lead atop of the standings disappear down the stretch and finish runners-up.

I gave Tata Martino the benefit of the doubt earlier in the season but that sailed away following his questionable decisions that saw this team squander their five point lead atop of the standings and kiss good bye to any chance of silverware the past few weeks. Clearly, this hiring has back fired and is yet another black eye for Sandro Rosell who made the decision to hire Tata in the first place. To be fair to Tata, he did request new players which were never provided, much like what Carlos Queiroz endured back in 2003-2004. They both squandered big leads atop of the standings down the stretch, lost in the Copa del Rey Final and exited the Champions League prematurely. Now, Tata falls on the sword that was set in place by this board. In order to go forward, we still need someone new to manage these players and someone who has ties to the club.

Speaking of players, I have been always of the opinion that this team needed to be gutted for a long time. This team could easily see over ten players leave in the summer. Puyol already indicated his career as a Barça player was over and Valdés had his bags packed since last season before he suffered his injury. Injured players such as Jonathan Dos Santos, Afellay, and Cuenca are also surplus to requirements. It’s also time for the club to look into cashing in on Tello, Alex Song, Mascherano and Alexis. Tello hardly plays and if Deulofeu returns from his loan spell at Everton; then he should be getting those minutes instead. As for Alex Song, it was doomed from the start and if Napoli want him, and Mascherano, then cash in on them. Mascherano has played his heart out for the club but is not a defender and will hardly feature as Busquets’s substitute. There’s already talk of Alexis joining Juventus and after three years, it’s time to cut our losses and realize he has the energy of Eto’o but is not a factor against defensive minded teams. There are some fans who are also considering selling Cesc and I can’t blame them after he managed to pull off his disappearing act in the second half of a season for three straight years now. As for Dani Alves, he no longer is the player he once was and his mouth seems to be turning off the fans more than his endless crosses to no one and that could be his final season as a Barça player.

 Thus, that’s eleven players who might not be a part of this team next season. However, before we discuss which players come in to reshape this team, we need to discuss the resignation of this board first. Current Barça president Bartomeu and his board need to resign after sitting on their thumbs and not reinforcing this squad when it was obvious last season. Zubizarreta has done an abysmal job when it comes to signing players and by all means should not be entrusted in future transfers. No, if a revolution is needed, then it needs to start from the top with the board stepping down and allowing someone competent to come in and hire a new manager and have a competent sporting director who knows how to scout and sign players to strengthen this team again. Unless that happens, this team will not progress and just continue to frustrate the Blaugrana faithful and squander the talents of Iniesta and Messi.

Barça's Gut Check Time.

A season on the brink of collapse is upon us. The club seems uncertain in which direction it’s headed and uncertain in any sort of identity on the pitch. They went from being the hunters to being the hunted ones. With the team in turmoil from the board down to the players, it’s gut-check time for the Blaugrana.

Out of 27 possible points in 2014, Barça have managed to secure 14 points. That means that this club has uncharacteristically dropped 13 points in two months and seems to be circling the drain. I warned back in Januarythat although the team was doing well, they had to make sure to avoid repeating history again. Well, sadly their recent defeat to Valladolid reminded Cules of Barça’s disappointing final two seasons of the Frank Rijkaard era.

At this moment, Barça seem like a lost club from top to bottom. I also expressed my displeasure back in December on how the club was being run and it seems that those fears have come to fruition. Club members are unhappy and it seems that the players are not happy. The Neymar transfer saga gets uglier every week and so has the team’s performances.

Barça can start righting the wrongs of this season. They have 11 league matches left and now is the time to start a long winning streak. They have Manchester City today to send a strong message to their fans. Another subpar performance will only lead to more doubts and criticism. A convincing win might perhaps propel the Blaugrana to keep fighting for the treble. There’s two months left and everything for Barça to play for. It’s gut-check time for the Blaugrana and they better improve or a lot of figures will be looking elsewhere next season to earn a pay check. 

Time for Cesc to Deliver.

For the third year in a row, Cesc seems to be mired in another second half collapse.  After a superb start to the season, Cesc is fizzling down the stretch. With three titles at arm’s length, it’s time for Cesc to step up and be a contributor on this team.

If there’s ever been a player that has failed to impress many Barça fans, it would be Cesc. The saga of him leaving the club and the subsequent pursuit in bringing back the prodigal son made the signing of Cesc  seem as the next big of the puzzle. Expectations were high that Cesc would be a perfect fit for Barça and he would be able to spell Xavi and be his successor yet those expectations have not been met.

Cesc kicked off this season with an impressive eight goals to go along with nine assists in the first half of the season. Sadly, his second half of the season is nothing much to write home about. He has only scored one goal and three assists so far. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that he performed so well when Messi was out of action. However, he has yet to figure out how to gel with the other players. Acceptance of his futility can be tolerated for so long before patience runs out.

Cesc and others need to step it up as the season nears an end. Another finale remembered for Cesc pulling off another disappearing act will be too much to bear. Another disappearing act might also be time to re-examine signing other players who can be contributors and if it’s also time for Cesc to be deemed expendable.

Barça’s problems are of their own wrongdoings.

Barça’s image suffered another black eye when FIFA issued their transfer ban this week. Barça’s failure to properly handle this matter is just another example of how inept this board has been over the years. This board specializes in playing the victim part so often which is rather embarrassing since it was everything that Pep Guardiola tried to rid us from. Now, Barça board, players and their fans are being embarrassed because of the board’s failure to conduct their business in a competent manner. Ultimately, the blame falls squarely on Barça’s shoulders and not the black hands of others.

FIFA’s announcement this week that Barça were going to be punished for signing young players was one of the lowest days for this Barça fan. On one hand, it is rather ironic that FIFA has a problem with Barça having kids from Asia and Africa staying with the club and learning the game from them. How is that a negative is beyond me especially when they seem turn a blind eye to the deaths of men who are dying at construction sites in Brazil and Qatar for their precious World Cup. I am sure those who have perished are also fathers to kids from Asian and Africa too. But then again, this is FIFA we are talking about.

Yet, my outrage was with the club for allowing this sort of problem to happen in the first place. Likewise, I was not surprised that the club was in trouble yet again. Each passing day that this board remains in charge is a recipe for disaster. This club inherited a successful club and somehow managed to sully its reputation by being so incompetent in how they handle their affairs.

Barça’s official website released a statement indicating the history of their correspondence with FIFA over this matter. That statement indicated that they always replied to FIFA’s inquires so they did nothing wrong. What bothers me is that this board never bothered to check with FIFA and see if the case was closed or if additional information was needed. Nope, they just went about their business and never made sure that the matter had been resolved.

This is another fine example of the board dropping the ball. They dropped the ball with the treatment of Thiago and Abidal. They dropped the ball in failing to re-enforce the team with more players and stood by while players were hurt. Instead of making transfer window signings, they told us that players returning from injuries would be our new signings. Well, Puyol and Afellay are back; how often have you seen them play?

It’s no secret that I was never a fan of this board and they have yet to win me over. The appointment of Zubizarreta as sporting director was something I never warmed up to. As one of my friends recently said about Zubi, he did poorly in the same position with Athletic Bilbao which meant he had fewer players to scout because of their Basque only policy. Hence, was he the right man for the job or the best suited man for the job because of his ties to the Blaugrana thanks to his playing days?

There is a minority, but a strong vocal minority, that just does not trust this board whatsoever. I am part of that minority who has trust issues with this board. They have never been straight forward about the club’s finances, the Qatar deal, Abidal, and Neymar’s transfer. One of the promises of the former president, Sandro Rosell, was that this club would be more transparent when he assumed the presidency. Yet, everything seems to be murky and not crystal clear. Even the recent proposal that was voted by the club members pertaining to the renovations of the Camp Nou was lacking sufficient details.

Therein lies the problem. I previously mentioned there is a minority of the fans, not the majority of the fans, who do not trust this board. All the problems that the club is currently dealing with are problems of their own manifestation. Their incompetence, not the black hands of others, is the cause of their problems and it’s fair to say the members are to blame for voting for Sandro Rosell and his men. If I were a soccer betting man, here would be my predictions. With the recent Camp Nou referendum being passed thanks to the votes of the members, don’t expect any summer elections anytime soon. Instead, I would expect two more years of futility during the prime of such players such as Messi and Iniesta. Ultimately, Barça’s problems are of their own wrongdoings and one hopes they can someday get their act together for once.

Barça’s own hands are to blame.

Barça’s problems over the years be it by failing to properly strengthen the football team to the off field issues such as Neymar transfer problems and current FIFA transfer ban. Barça can point the finger on “black hands” at work but they should point that finger at themselves for all the wrong doings they have committed by their own hands.

The recent news that Barça were banned by FIFA from any conducting any transfers was downright embarrassing. By all means, I am no advocate of FIFA or its laws. I understand that they want to avoid the equivalent of child slavery but how does a young child going to La Masia equates to slavery, I will never know. Better yet, if FIFA were so worried about children, why not investigate all those children’s fathers who have died on construction sites or barred from leaving Qatar as they prepare to hose the World Cup.

Nevertheless, all these problems Barça have been facing are problems they brought onto themselves. The club says they did nothing wrong and even presented a listing of their correspondences with FIFA over these youth players. However, the club never did follow up with FIFA to see if the matter was closed. Rather than seek confirmation and have a clear conscience, they opted to just move and forget about it.

The problem I have always had with this board is that they always seem to be reactive than be proactive. For example, they failed to sign key players, such as defenders, even when Puyol was playing hurt and Abidal was fighting for his life. They complained about Madrid and its media spreading lies and defaming the club and its players but all they did was threaten legal action; not actually go forward with such actions against Madrid media and have lunch with Real Madrid’s president.

The Neymar transfer headaches were a cause of their lack of transparency. They told us the transfer cost one amount that kept growing. The same board also promised us that the sponsorship deal with Qatar Foundation was clear and did not contain any surprises or hidden clauses and suddenly Qatar Airlines. There are also questions as to how poor was the financial state of the club and also why was Abidal let go after it was promised he would be given a new deal once he sets foot on the pitch.

In the end, all the problems that Barça are facing are a result of their own doing and not that of black hands. Club members are the ones who voted for Sandro Rosell. He was put into power by the members and a third of them just voted in favor of the referendum that will see the Camp Nou get a face lift even though we’re not aware of all the details. So please Barça board members and fans, if there’s anyone to blame for what is happening, blame Barça. 

Barça’s Hectic April Schedule.

Barça are heading down the stretch and still in contention for all three major trophies. The month of April will be a grueling one with Barça forced to focus on remaining in the hunt for the league crown, face their arch enemy in the Copa del Rey Final and try to get past Atletico Madrid in the Champions League to advance to the Semi-Finals. Barça will kick off April Fool’s Day by hosting Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou. One can only hope that Barça end the month on a good note and not by feeling like fools.

Barça’s league schedule in April will see them play Real Betis, Granada, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal. The last two league matches are the ones to worry about, although Granada away could be a banana peel for the club. Barça’s league woes stemmed from some surprising performances away such as their loss to Valladolid and they cannot afford to drop anymore points to on the road, or at home for that matter.

Fortunately, those matches will be on the weekend. Unfortunately, Barça won’t be enjoying much rest with midweek games in between. They will be facing Atletico Madrid today and next week.  If they do defeat Atletico and advance to the Semi-Finals of the Champions, they will have to play twice more in the final two weeks of April.

Meanwhile, Barça will face Real Madrid in the middle of all these fixtures when they play in the Copa del Rey Final on April 16th in Valencia. Barça surely won’t have much time to rest but that also means Barça cannot afford anymore hiccups along the way. Hopefully they will defeat Atletico today by a big margin to give themselves a breather in the second leg and not make it more complicated on themselves.

Tata Martino rotated players left and right for this time of the year. Last year, Barça were limping towards the finish. As of now, they seem rejuvenated with a five game winning streak which had not happened prior to the winter break. Let’s see if their April performances will lead to May glory.

Barça must kill off Atlético in the first leg.

Barça and Atlético Madrid renew acquaintances when they meet in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals clash. Barça will be hosting the first leg at the Camp Nou and with their chase for the treble still ongoing, they cannot afford to make things complicated. Therefore, Barça has to kill off Atlético in the first leg to ensure passage to the Semi-Finals.

Barça should only look at Real Madrid in how they eliminated Atlético when they met in the Copa del Rey Semi-Finals. Madrid defeated their cross town rivals 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu and made the second leg a foregone conclusion. Barça find themselves in a similar situation and by all means should obtain a similar result and avoid a difficult second leg at Atlético’s grounds.

Barça had done so at this stage in the past. Barça defeated Bayern Munich 4-0 at the Camp Nou during their first leg of the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals stage. They also demolished Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 in the first leg of the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals. Coincidentally, they ended up winning the competition both years. Barca also defeated Atlético 3-1 away in their first leg of their Copa del Rey clash back in 2008-2009 that basically sealed the Madrid club’s fate.

Barça can ill afford a negative or close result against Atlético in the first leg. If this club claims to be back in form, then they have to prove it. Beating Atlético would basically make it up an uphill journey for their opponents in the second leg but would also put other teams on notice. The month of April will be a demanding one for the Blaugrana and what better way to kick off a month than with a convincing win.