Rosell Should Not Ignore Warning Shot.

The most recent attempt by Barça socios to bring a “motion to censure” against FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell ended before it could start. Although Barça have been performing well for the Blaugrana faithful to enjoy, there are many who are also growing weary of Sandro Rosell’s presidency.

2016 will be when Barça has its next presidential elections. Sandro Rosell has till then to add to his legacy as Barça president. His legacy as a successful president with regards to triumphs by his teams is well documented. His legacy as a popular president with his leadership is another thing altogether. Rosell has made mistakes during his presidency that it was not a surprise that a “motion to censure” was actually brought forward.

Fortunately for Rosell, the motion died when those who brought it forward realized that they needed signatures from 15% of the socios and not 5%. Rosell had recently proposed increasing that number but he was bailed out by a change in the law from a few years ago that made it mandatory for clubs to request such as a high number of signatures.

I am not an admirer of Sandro Rosell so I was glad that this motion was brought forward. No, I am not advocating that he should be dethroned and be forced to step down immediately. Instead, I was hoping that this motion would actually put him on the hot seat and make him re-examine some of the decisions that he has made in the past and deter him from repeating those mistakes in the future.

One of the main faults of Rosell has been his selfish pursue of using the presidency to exact petty revenge against former Barça president Joan Laporta. I mentioned that in my column last week that some allege this agenda by continuing to go after Laporta and making sure Johan Cruyff did not have a role to play in this team is what drove Pep Guardiola out of the club.  It is quite sad that this club currently has a cold relationship with Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard and Guardiola who are responsible for the four Champions League titles.

Obviously some Barça fans are not too thrilled with Rosell being investigated for allegedly receiving kickbacks and his handling of such allegations with responses that were not well thought out in advance. There are many who are dismayed by how he has decided to place the Qatar Foundation logo on the shirt and furthermore, not make it the most expensive deal in the world. There’s also the reaction of how they have poorly handled some of their own players’ departures such as Abidal, David Villa and Thiago.

So Rosell managed to avoid being put on the hot seat and face a real test of whether or not he is still popular as he once was back in 2010. One can only hope that this not makes him feel more invincible but instead, makes him see the error of his ways. Rosell has created a big wedge among the Blaugrana faithful and it’s time he makes amends for some of the mistakes he has already made and bridges the gap.