Barca fans received the tragic news of Tito Vilanova's death today. He was admitted to hospital yesterday after becoming seriously ill and remained extremely critical. Today afternoon he finally succumbed to throat cancer, a disease which has forced him to retire from managing Barca. Let's all remember him in our prayers.
With the temporary lifting of transfer ban imposed on Barca, there are too much speculation going on. The latest we have heard is the potential sale of Javier Mascherano. A few months ago all the fans could be up in arms against such a move. But at the current moment there sure will be conflicting ideas on their minds about this possibility. In any case this all will happen if our management does the stuff they are supposed to do - sign quality central defenders. Going by their track record, we could expect them to make a lot of noise about the possibility of signing a number of players, naming them openly, by doing so alerting other clubs to that possibility and eventually getting prized out of the market. They are good enough to make excuses about this and excellent in selling to the members. Remember last summer transfer window?
Dani Alves future at Barca has been under constant speculation for the past one year. Some expect the club to cash in on a player who was the main stay to Barca's success but also is approaching 30. There is a school of thought that if we are going to make money out of Alves, then that moment would be right now. Barca fans are totally split on Alves. His form may have been bit patchy lately and his crosses has failed to reach the targets. But they do realize that his defensive fragility is due to the fact that he is getting stretched on the right with make shift central defenders alongside him. The management may not mid cash in on the players especially his open outburst against Rosell for selling Abidal. Whatever the case, a final decision will be made by the player and the club after the World Cup.
