Basketball star LeBron James joins forces with Fenway

It seems like we are finally going to try and make some F***ing money, something we have failed miserably to reach our potential in for twenty years.

I think there will be a lot of people who'll look at this as a negative but I think it is a signal we are looking to be innovative and exploit new opportunities to take much need money in. So it should all be fine as long as it helps us on the pitch ultimately.

I'm led to believe Lebron James is the Cristiano Ronaldo of basketball. Hated by many but F***ing good.

That's about as accurate a comparison as you could make, yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0aPkkrFgp0&feature=related

I might be drunk but im so confused...great B baller but what can he offer

More publicity = higher chance of selling our merchandises = more revenue for the club.
People who hate lebron james will continue to hate lebron james, it really doesnt affect us. 

Lebron James certainly knows how to make money. I see partnering up with him a new way to bring in revenue, and it will definitely give more publicity to football fans in the U.S. I live in the states and although most people don't really like Lebron, football fans will see Lebron tied in with Liverpool and we will attract new fans which means more money for Liverpool. It's a win win.

Great move. The man is simply one of the most well known athletes in America, and much of the world. Anyone who knows anything about basketball knows who LeBron James is. Regardless of what you think of him personality wise (i think some people go over the top with him) his profile if used right will be great for us.

Just saw this. This is nice.

P.S. Can we have Kobe Bryant?

So who's he replacing in the first team?

So who's he replacing in the first team?

Lucas, obviously.

Cool. Is that the transfer fund topped up?

You took the words right out of my mouth, yeah and sure hope it is!

Never heard of him.

You really should get out more!
Just kidding...but in all fairness why should you (have heard of him that is)? He is an American sports star playing one of THE all American sports. Just google him for more info or watch some of the videos duly supplied here.

I am not keen on this to be honest. Maybe its old age but it all seems a bit tacky to me. I accept the need for sponsorship and commercialisation, but there should be limits to just how far we go in the persuit of a quick dollar, and I think we are fast approaching them.   

You make us sound like a gentlemens club where membership referals with tea and honeycakes and a cigar room all form the fabric of what constitutes Liverpool FC.
It 's a brave new world, and far more eyebrow arching deals are made around the world than this.
Yes, Liverpool is a great old club, with wonderful traditions and a sparkling history behind it but without selling our souls or tarnishing all that has gone before, surely deals such as this can only but help kick our butts into gear as far as marketing and finances are concerned.
Great deal if you ask me!

Personally, I've never heard of the guy but, he is obviously a massive star in the states and in the world of basketball. So this would appear as a good move by our owners to increase the clubs profile, thereby bringing in more revenue.

Our owners are not just going to blow untold millions on our club over night. As they have said, it's a building process and as I see it, this is all part of that process.

Before they invest in the club at the sort of levels we need, that investment needs to be brought in. I see this move as part of building a secure revenue. It's not just about throwing big money at the club but, bringing stability along with it.

I think we will see similar things happening in the near future and as long as the money from such ventures is invested in the stadium and the team, I'll be more than happy.

I only can see good coming out of this move! But he is a f***in jackass!

More money Yes. So it is good for me, because of his commercial worldwide appeal!

So who's he replacing in the first team?

Reina when he leaves?

LeBron looks kind of alright with the ball in his hands.

So who's he replacing in the first team?

Up front with Carroll . That will make vidic sh*t his pants all day long

I actually think its quite strange too to be honest, a 26 year old basketball star having a minor stake in the club.

I'm not saying its a bad thing, but it could highlight how things will turn out, maybe there will be 49 minority stakes in the future with FSG holding the controlling 51 ?

I would rather have a 26 year old basketball star have a minority stake in the club than 2 old basta*ds like Hicks and Gillette.Joking aside if he is only a minority shareholder he will not have much input into how the club is run.

Think this was the fear a lot of Liverpool fans had when Americans got involved with our club. How long is it until we have Mickey Mouse running on during half time or unveil our own Michael Jackson statue right next to the one of Shankly?

But F**k it, it's happened. Another publicity stunt, but can't change it now.

^ Better than playing in the Championship struggling to make revenue

^^^
Is it?

By becoming a circus for celebrities to have a go with? Where does it stop? Can Madonna, Spielberg, Obama, Michael Jordan all have stakes if they want to as well?

Lets not forget the laughter so many Reds had when Sly Stallone was at Goodison. This is exactly the same.

Stallone was a gimmick though and a one off. This is a venture into a new market completely and a cross-sporting partnership.

However, the only thing i am confused about is that LBJ is contracted to Nike isnt he? We're with Adidas so how will he promote us?

Whether we like it or not, we do live in a brave new world, where money, brand, and marketing said brand to a wider audience is vital.

Having watched live all the major North American sports in the US and Canada, the way they 'do sport' over there is vastly different to how we 'do sport'. I don't pretend that I like all of it, but we would be foolish to think that there is absolutely nothing we can learn from them.

FSG want Liverpool to succeed, to win the Premier League and the Champions League, and are willing to invest. If this is one of their multiple strategies to generate that cash, I'm not going to argue about it (yet). So far, in everything they have done, they have been highly professional, and long term and strategic in their thinking.

Stallone was a gimmick though and a one off. This is a venture into a new market completely and a cross-sporting partnership.

However, the only thing I am confused about is that LBJ is contracted to Nike isnt he? We're with Adidas so how will he promote us?

I recall in the 1940s think it was 1945 when Joe Louis the heavyweight champion of the world was visiting the American troops in Burtonwood  and he actually signed for Liverpool as a player and if I recall right he did it in the centre circle before the match kicked off,it was a friendly but he was registered as a Liverpool player.I suppose that was a gimmick but at the time it was a welcome one.I have no problem raising cash from any source as long the money is used to improve the team.

The reason that he has deals with 'blue-chip companies such as McDonald's, Nike, and Coca-Cola' is the exposure he brings to their 'brands'. As much as the word 'brand' leaves a sour taste in our mouths after H&G banged on about LFC being "An exciting franchise" it's the way the world runs now.

Everything that's fashionable and deemed successful is cross-branded, to succeed and compete you have to be in the game. The mancs have done it for years whilst we sat in our sh*te sponsorship deals, we're entering the game and slowly but surely moving up to become dominant in worldwide football. Other 'brands' have been doing it for years, unfortunately we had Parry and then two money grabbing gob-shites.

I'd imagine that what our owners have done is give him a very small share in the club, less than 0.5%, to promote us on an agreed basis. We lose nothing and for what our more informed fans have stated even though he might be classed as an arsehole he's a good promotional tool (so to speak) and will increase revenue. The one thing thing that I'm sure we can all agree on is our owners cannot be accused of is being fools. They come across as shrewd and in business that's golden.

To see the negative in this means you're either stuck in the past or disagreeable to the point of being a pain in the arse just for the hell of it.