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Written by David Skilling
West Ham turn to Scott Parker after sacking Nuno
West Ham have appointed Scott Parker as their new head coach, ending Nuno Espírito Santo’s 13-month spell. Parker returns to a club where he spent four years as a player, inheriting a side sitting eighth, and four points outside the automatic promotion places.
I think Parker is a good move for West Ham, as it’s a familiar assignment for him. Parker has already guided Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley into the Premier League, making him an obvious candidate for a club whose immediate priority is promotion. Whether his football will satisfy supporters in the longer term is another question, but West Ham have more pressing concerns.
What interests me is the timing. Nuno failed to prevent relegation last season, yet the club retained him and invested heavily in a squad expected to challenge for the Championship title. That decision now looks a bit expensive.
Parker’s record suggests he knows how to get West Ham back into the top flight. But the appointment also raises questions about the judgement of the people making decisions above him, which is becoming a common theme across football clubs.
Milan and Inter unveil a €650m deal for their new stadium
A world-class facility: the new home of AC Milan, Inter and their fans
AC Milan and Inter have unveiled plans for the Generali Stadium, a 71,500-seat venue intended to replace the San Siro from the 2031/32 season. The naming-rights agreement with Italian insurer Generali is reportedly worth about €650m, making it one of the largest of this type of deal in football.
For supporters who associate the San Siro with decades of European football history, the name alone will take some getting used to, but the clubs have an obvious commercial argument for it. Modern stadiums can generate far more revenue through hospitality, events and premium experiences than older grounds, and if they want to compete with Europe’s other wealthy clubs, they need that money.
I suspect the name will become less contentious if the stadium delivers on the clubs' promises, but the real test will be whether its replacement preserves the atmosphere while providing a better experience. We’ll only know that once it’s built.
Chelsea’s owners face questions over Premier League ticket resale
A company controlled by Chelsea majority owner Clearlake Capital has been linked to a ticket-resale platform offering Premier League seats at inflated prices. An investigation by The Times found that events365.com had offered tickets for matches involving 19 Premier League clubs, excluding Chelsea, with one ticket reportedly purchased for almost four times its face value.
The investigation also uncovered instructions advising a purchaser to conceal the ticket’s source if questioned at the stadium, and now, access to Premier League tickets has been removed from the platform following enquiries to Clearlake.
Chelsea, like other Premier League clubs, warns supporters about the dangers of unauthorised resale. Fans buying through unofficial channels can face cancelled tickets, refused entry or even club sanctions. That makes the reported ownership connection particularly troublesome.
The reporting doesn’t establish that Chelsea’s executives knowingly authorised the specific listings or that they broke the law. Nevertheless, I think supporters are entitled to ask why a business connected to football-club ownership was operating in a market where ordinary fans are repeatedly warned not to participate.
Real Madrid could open the door to private investors
Real Madrid could be approaching one of the most consequential ownership debates in their modern history. According to reports, the club is preparing for a general assembly that could advance Florentino Pérez’s proposed corporate restructuring, potentially allowing external investment in a member-controlled subsidiary.
I wrote about it last year
[
Real Madrid is Selling A Piece of the Club: What Does 5% Really Change?](https://originalfootball.substack.com/p/real-madrid-is-selling-a-piece-of)
#### Real Madrid is Selling A Piece of the Club: What Does 5% Really Change?
David Skilling
·
December 2, 2025
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The proposal remains exploratory; so far, members haven’t approved a change, and the precise structure and financial terms have yet to be presented publicly.
Madrid’s member-owned identity has long distinguished the club from rivals controlled by private investors, but Pérez faces an increasingly difficult financial landscape, particularly as Premier League clubs benefit from enormous broadcasting revenues and wealthy ownership groups.
Allowing investment into a commercial subsidiary could provide new capital without necessarily transferring control of the football club. Madrid supporters will, of course, want to know which assets would sit inside the new company, what rights investors might receive, and whether future income would be committed in exchange for immediate funding.
Those details will determine whether this becomes an innovative financing arrangement or the beginning of a fundamental change in Madrid’s ownership model.
FIFA agrees to show officials documents from its abandoned World Cup investment plan
FIFA has agreed to let members of its governing council inspect documents relating to its abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which would have allowed private investors to acquire a minority interest in a business controlling commercial rights to FIFA competitions.
Council members will be permitted to inspect selected documents at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, subject to confidentiality restrictions, which I find interesting. Allowing officials to view documents is a form of transparency, but requiring them to travel to Zurich and review material under confidentiality restrictions creates clear limitations and doesn’t do much to erase suspicion around the subject.
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