The time has come for this FC Barcelona board to step down and call for elections. There have been others, besides me, who have also asked for this that have been unjustly labeled as “spoiled.” It’s this sort mentality that seems to hold this club back when it’s time to demand for change.
I always loved the spoiled fans argument when fellow fans disagree with your displeasure with your club. I never understood how criticizing your club is not considered loyalty when the criticism is merited. Ever since Sandro Rosell and his friends were elected, this club has been heading backwards. It’s true that Barça won the league and Champions League title during Rosell’s first year but that was because they inherited a great team from the previous president Joan Laporta.
So it had to be devastating for the current Barça board when their civil liability case against former club president Joan Laporta and his board was dismissed. They claimed that Laporta had converted a “€79million loss into an €11million profit” by forging the accounts and presented proof that alleged supposedly proved that the club had lost €47million between 2003 and 2010. The judge however, ruled that Laporta did in fact leave the club with a profit and not the losses claimed by the board.
This announcement came on the heels of Barça’s disappointing Clásico loss to Real Madrid, so the mood in Barcelona was already sour. For years, we were told that Laporta stole and in the end, the board was left with eggs on their face. So of course, current president Bartomeu announced that the club will appeal that decision. That announcement was met with criticism by fans. The board suffered another black eye the following day when Barça were defeated by Celta Vigo in the Camp Nou and found themselves now behind Madrid after being at one time 6 points ahead.
During that match, a banner was unveiled at the Camp Nou stating that this was the worst board in history. The following day, Sport posted an online poll asking its readers if they want early elections and, after 10,000 and plus voted, the answer was an overwhelming Yes. Clearly, there is displeasure and discontent with the way the team is run on the pitch and off the pitch.
Back in 2011, Sandro Rosell was the club president and forced upon us that the club needed to sign that sponsorship agreement with Qatar Foundation which morphed into Qatar Airways. Back then, Rosell indicated the importance of this deal by stating that “Barça would be sustainable, but with another dimension. I could not continue to keep all you need: the world’s best squad, the best manager…and rivals would have more advantages.”Well, here we are in 2014 and we no longer have the best manager the club has ever had, Pep Guardiola, and we no longer have the best squad anymore.
Rosell resigned following the Neymar signing controversy which is being argued in court and the club is already appealing the FIFA Transfer ban. We do not want another case against Laporta argued in court. We just want a president that was actually elected by the members, not appointed by a president exiting the club under dark clouds, or under shame.
Of course, you always meet those who say that we are complaining because we are “spoiled” fans. If we are tired because the club is mismanaged and wasting the talents of Messi and others, then we are not spoiled. Spoiled fans should not demand a board to resign? Spoiled fans should not demand better coaching and better signings? Spoiled fans should not be upset by failure? We are spoiled since we demand the board not to mismanage the club and watch it become Inter or Milan with aged veterans and poor signings? Hence, we are not spoiled from winning. We are hungry for more success. We demand better from FC Barcelona and we demand early elections and not wait till 2016 for the next round of elections.
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