Well Elections are coming and I thought it deserved its own thread. Here is the beginning of Sandrusco (as Joan called him) Rossel's candidatura. So let the bickering for who your choice. (BTW if you have a cooler name for the thread title, get the Monty, JF, or Natty to change it )
I predict lots and lots of drama. This might be a good place to talk about "Barcagate," as it looks like a story that won't be going away soon. Here's an article about Joan, Sandro, Barcagate, and the "vicious circle."
You would rather we be owned by some foreigner, who has no idea of what the club stands for, who just wants a toy to play with. I'd rather go trough politics than that.
Pep, the guy until recently ran the FCB Transfer blog, has a new blog devoted specifically to the elections: http://barcaelections2010.blogspot.com/
I'm trying to wrap my head around these elections on a slow Friday afternoon at work, I have two questions: 1) When are the candidacies announced (or have they already been) and when is the actual election? 2) What the heck does Joan Laporta do after his term is up?
I think Laporta is a lawyer in Real Life. So I imagine he'll go back to work. Unless he runs for some kind of public office, as has been speculated.
First, thanks for the link to Pep's knew blog on the elections (see earlier in this thread). Other speculation on Laporta is that he wants to effectively maintain some control of Barca by having one of his board lieutenants elected. He most definitely does not want Sandro Rosell elected after their very public split. Supposedly Rosell was spied on in 2005 after leaving the club, and the board members who were more recently spied on are thought to be potential Rosell supporters or potential candidates in their own right who might welcome Rosell back to the club. Either way there is a ton of ambition and ego involved.
Why the hell does Laporta care so much about Sandro coming back into the fold? It can't be just pure ego, is he really scared that someone could have a more successful run than him? I bet Sandro either welched on a bet or hit on his woman.
Looks like there's been a break in the ranks as Jaume Ferrer - listed on the club's website as "Vice president with responsabitity for buildings and property and director with responsability for handball", and who has been part of Laporta's team since their 2003 election win - has publicly announced his intention to run for president. It was expected that Laporta's supporters would back the current First Vice-president Alfons Godall when he eventually submits his candidacy, but Ferrer's announcement has seemingly thrown a wrench into everyone's plans. Here's a link to the story from the website that was posted above.
http://barcaelections2010.blogspot.com/2009/12/rosell-closing-in-on-cesc.html Looks like Cesc transfer rumoring will be a big part of this election. Rosell apparently has friends with Nike and The Big Swoosh would prefer Cesc to transfer to a Nike-sponsored club.
The gunners are nique sponsored. Here is another candidate it seems. At first I thought it was gonna be Rosell vs. the continuity candidate. But Soriano and this guy could take alot of votes from either. I just hope it ends with Pep staying and Cesc coming back (if we can't get Cesc, I can settle for Pep staying )
Sorry, I meant that Nike would like him to be at another Nike-sponsored club when he leaves. Crynaldo is sponsored by Nike but LPB is sponsored by adidas and there's been friction. (Probably nothing that more hair gel couldn't fix.) Has Pep said anything about Cesc besides that he would welcome him back? If he came out and said that getting back Cesc would really make him want to stay, that can swing tons of votes to whomever can get it to happen.
I'm kinda pulling for a repeat of Laporta's bait-n-switch: BECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAMBECKHAM-whoops-DINHO!
FYI, Sandro Rosell has set up a twitter account (@sandrorosell). He's going to be doing a Q&A there, though as I understand it, you have to ask the questions on his Facebook page to receive answers via Twitter. Rosell 2.0 indeed. P.S. I'm totally following him.
Maybe lanu, but haven't seen him in a minute. Recent poll of socios: Who do you plan to vote for in the elections on 13 June? Sandro Rosell 33% Ferran Soriano 11% Alfons Godall 7% Jaume Ferrer 4% Jaume Llauradó 2% Don't know 36% Won't vote 4% Other candidates 3% total votes: 1000 date poll: 4 to 6 february 2010 poll method: telephone interviews with club members who have the right to vote, 95% certainty
Whoever wins the election, does anyone feel that the shirt will be soiled with a sponsor's logo once the Unicef deal ends in 2011? Have any of the candidates mentioned this issue? I'm guessing not as it could be viewed by some (ie MARCA, ASs) as dissing Unicef.
I like that the team has helped raise awareness and gave some money for UNICEF. But, I'd be extremely happy if the shirt was left "clean" this time around. We clearly don't need a shirt sponsor, since we've done fine without one and even paying UNICEF.
I said it back when the UNICEF first went on the shirt: it's a softening blow for an inevitable, real corporate sponsor. Honestly, if it happens, I'm fine with it. Times change, the economy changes, Barcelona has to stay current. I just hope it's a sponsor I can respect (ahem, *not online gambling sites*)
I wouldn't mind a compromise in which we just make the Nike swish a little bit bigger and get some more cash from them.