Anthony Stokes (F free agent b.1988) [Archive] - Page 10

Fergie's Son

31/12/2006, 7:49 PM

Aliadiere isn't good enough and he won't be at Arsenal next year.

Not to be a downer but 9 of Stokes' goals have been hat-tricks. Perhaps he is streaky?

Again, I'm concerned that Wegner is willing to sell him. Perhaps he thinks Stokes has found his "level".

Mind you, he should start against San Marino as I think he will tear them apart.

Qwerty

01/01/2007, 5:40 PM

Aresnal haven't sold him yet, if I were cynical I I'd say if he spoke a foreign language he would stay. Apart from Stokes the Gunners have all of 6 English & Irish players - all youths really - with squad numbers and about 26 foreigners. Of the 6 non-foreigners only Walcott & Hoyte play first team football on a regular basis. His chances for advancement are probably better elsewhere. A top 10 Championship team or Celtic would be his best bet.

Fergie's Son

01/01/2007, 6:18 PM

I'd like to see him go to the Championship rather than Celtic.

Less pressure and more time to work on his game.

republicofwhite

01/01/2007, 8:57 PM

NEWSFLASH: Just got this from Wikipedia...Could be a Gremlin but its interesting nonetheless...

"Anthony Stokes (born July 25, 1988 in Dublin) is an Irish footballer, who currently plays for Celticl after Signing for the Bhoys the deal will start on January First signing a 3 year deal for £1,000,000. He normally plays as a striker or attacking midfielder. He is a current Irish Under 21 international."

Fergie's Son

01/01/2007, 9:20 PM

Can I just reiterate here . . . and believe me, it's true . . . nobody that matters at Arsenal knows who he is.
Also, what in the name of God has the fact that 9 of his goals have been hat-tricks got to do with anything? At least he scored them. What has Saint Duffer achieved this season?

Why are you mentioning Duff? Nobody brought him up. My point is that he has had a great start but that many of his goals were against relatively poor opposition.

Wegner does not rate him which is a cause for concern given the fact that he is a very good judge of talent.

Leave the crap out of this and just debate the subject at hand,

tetsujin1979

02/01/2007, 12:02 AM

Got sent this article on a Celtic Mailing list, apparently it's from the times, but I can't find a link to the article online

The SPL’s leading goalscorer and Ireland B international, Anthony Stokes
— who has been on loan from Arsenal to Falkirk since the start of the
season — is on the verge of joining Celtic.

The Scottish champions are in talks with Arsenal’s chairman, David Dein,
about the 18-year-old Dublin striker, below, joining either permanently
or on loan till the end of the season. Celtic are already reported to
have had a £750,000 bid for Stokes turned down by Arsenal. Charlton
Athletic have also shown interest in Stokes, though the appointment of
Alan Pardew at The Valley may have changed that situation. Pardew is
believed to have been impressed by Stokes when he saw him playing for
the Arsenal reserves against his old side West Ham, but his priorities
may lie elsewhere.

Stokes’ goals have helped steer Falkirk into mid-table and the
semi-final of the CIS Cup. He has scored 16 goals, including yesterday’s
hat-trick, his third since his loan move to the Bairns began with a 4-0
defeat by Rangers in September. Falkirk manager John Hughes had hoped to
extend the striker’s loan deal — which expires at midnight — until next
May but Stokes has almost certainly played his last game for the club.
If a deal can’t be reached to take him to Parkhead, he will end up back
at Arsenal for the time being at least.

Qwerty

02/01/2007, 1:30 AM

eirebhoy

02/01/2007, 8:50 AM

Can I just reiterate here . . . and believe me, it's true . . . nobody that matters at Arsenal knows who he is.
You mean the chairman didn't know of him a couple of months ago? I'd be suprised if the people that matter (ie. the manager) at every single premiership club didn't know of him.

tets - the link to that was posted by geysir a few posts back.

OwlsFan

02/01/2007, 9:02 AM

eirebhoy

02/01/2007, 9:14 AM

Everybody's the new Roy Keane. He's a holding midfielder who also played for Arsenal. Linked with Celtic a few months ago. A solid player but I haven't seen enough of him to comment. I've seen plenty of Falkirk but he has never stood out.

Hughes on Stokes:

"It's not done and dusted yet. Anthony is away back to Arsenal to sort out his future.

"I've got so much respect for Arsenal but we are still hopeful that he might be back for us.

"I will keep the door open as long as I can but I owe it to the Falkirk supporters to go and get my work

"I've got one or two other irons in the fire. If that means bringing in another striker then so be it.

"Stokesy's a great player to have in your squad. He's a great kid to work with.

"I spoke to Arsenal this morning and they have been great. They want him down there so they can talk to him about his future.

"Whatever they decide we'll respect it.

geysir

02/01/2007, 10:12 AM

Got sent this article on a Celtic Mailing list, apparently it's from the times, but I can't find a link to the article online

It was right in front of you on Footie :)
The link to the ST article was already posted here (message 407).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2524398_1,00.html

republicofwhite

02/01/2007, 6:57 PM

Wegner does not rate him which is a cause for concern given the fact that he is a very good judge of talent.

,
This is true, he's back at Arsenal, and considering he's been on fire, in exceptional form and scored a hat trick a matter of days ago, you think in the off chance he might just have got a place on the bench for tonight, as Arsenal have been firing blanks, they have about 4/5 strikers and attackers out injured and Bendter and Lupoli are still out on loan. But no, Henry recalled from exile and the absolutely hapless and hopeless Jeremie Aliaderie the only recognised striker on the bench. So yeah, Wenger probably just wants to make some money out of him at this stage. As regards Cregg, extremely determined, quite passionate...hence the lofty Keano comparisons. But the ability isn't quite apparent just yet...i.e. Falkirk fan getting very carried away.

McGinty

02/01/2007, 8:52 PM

I was over in Edinburgh for New Year's Eve and got talking to a Falkirk supporter. Much and all that he loves Stokes, he says that a young Irish player there called Cregg is "the new Roy Keane". Anyone know anything about him ?

he's another former arsenal lad, scored a peno yesterday aswell.

i played with him when i was younger, always was a quality player, i've been tracking him for years as has my dad who used to train him, and i really hope he does well for himself. gonna try and go over before the end of the season to see him play

its impossible to tell how he's gonna do in the future though, stokes bangs in a rake of goals and the whole of england takes notice, its a little harder for a central midfielder to make an impression

Wolfie

02/01/2007, 9:20 PM

.........its impossible to tell how he's gonna do in the future though, stokes bangs in a rake of goals and the whole of england takes notice, its a little harder for a central midfielder to make an impression

True - early days. Still, given the paucity of midfielders, its great to see someone even showing some early potential.

eirebhoy

03/01/2007, 9:59 AM

Here's Falkirk v Inverness highlights:
http://www.zshare.net/video/falkirk3inverness1-avi.html

Download link (http://www.zshare.net/download/falkirk3inverness1-avi.html)

Nice pass from Cregg for one of the goals.

McGinty

03/01/2007, 11:48 AM

cheers eirebhoy, any chance of anyone putting up any more falkirk links, i'll relying on bogey youtube for my falkirk updates!

Irish_Praha

03/01/2007, 2:54 PM

Does anyone know how long he has left on his contract with Aresnal?
They would be crazy to sell him now and get about a million for him, when he could be a star of the future and go on to be worth much more than that. He's only 18. Far to early to make a concrete decision on him. If I was them I'd loan him out to a EPL team for the rest of the season - on the condition that he gets at least 30 mins to ease him in for his first game and then starts the next 5 games. Then it's up to the loan team after that if they want to keep him in the starting 11. It's not going to do him anygood to get the odd 15 min subs appearance and waste his time like Giuseppe Rossi at Newcastle. That would be a step backwards from starting every week with Falkirk. I'd say teams like Aston Villa, Charlton, Watford, Sheff Utd and Man City would all give him a chance.

galwayhoop

03/01/2007, 3:16 PM

If I was them I'd loan him out to a EPL team for the rest of the season - on the condition that he gets at least 30 mins to ease him in for his first game and then starts the next 5 games. Then it's up to the loan team after that if they want to keep him in the starting 11. It's not going to do him anygood to get the odd 15 min subs appearance and waste his time like Giuseppe Rossi at Newcastle. That would be a step backwards from starting every week with Falkirk. I'd say teams like Aston Villa, Charlton, Watford, Sheff Utd and Man City would all give him a chance.

are you for real! what team in the EPL would agree to this in fairness - no matter how he plays he has got to start the first 5 games - get a grip! the only conditions you hear about loan deals is they aren't allowed to play against the team loaning out the player.

with relegation, european qualification, more money for finishing higher up the table ... etc you would never hear of this. i'm sure warnock would agree to it straight away (in your dreams) while he tries to keep SU in the league yet is forced to play some young lad for a third of their remaining games no matter how he performs!!

i think you may be playing too many Champ Manager games my son!

eirebhoy

03/01/2007, 3:23 PM

Apparantly Wenger said in last nights programme that he'll be loaned out for the rest of the season. I don't know how true that is. With Darren Bent getting injured I wouldn't be suprised to see him go to Charlton.

republicofwhite

03/01/2007, 4:16 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUJISZo4RBQ

Its Arsenal's top ten reserve goals from last season. Check it out, Stokes's goals are brilliant individual efforts, remember he was 17 at the time and he's also right footed, he stands out a mile on this footage. Cregg has a goal in there too.

Billsthoughts

03/01/2007, 11:39 PM

are you for real! what team in the EPL would agree to this in fairness - no matter how he plays he has got to start the first 5 games - get a grip! the only conditions you hear about loan deals is they aren't allowed to play against the team loaning out the player.

!

Actually not true. Have it on good authority that the reason sunderland didnt take him on loan at the start of the season was that arsenal insisted he play every game. bet they are kicking themselves now!

dodgycanadian

04/01/2007, 2:39 AM

Was talking to the Cherry Orchard u18s manager a few days ago when I was over in Dublin as he was actually my taxi driver. He was telling me how Stokes' dad is banned from the Cherry Orchard clubhouse and grounds as he is a bit of a rat. Also I was told that Stokes had a deal in principle with Man United but then his father went out calling clubs toting him around for a new deal which Arsenal came up with.

bawn79

04/01/2007, 7:49 AM

I know a guy from Cherry Orchard as well and allegedly that is true. Allegedly he stole an entire underage team (U-13/U14) and took them all to Shelbourne so you could understand why they would be miffed about something like that.

drummerboy

04/01/2007, 8:06 AM

I think the reason Stokes hasn't got more chances with Arsenal is probably because of the interferring influence of his father. He now works for the same agency that took Ashley Cole to Chelsea.

tetsujin1979

04/01/2007, 8:54 AM

According to 2fm this morning Roy Keane is going to speak to Stokes in the next few days about him coming to Sunderland. I hear they're stuck for Irish strikers there alright.

Also, from today's Indo: http://www.unison.ie/sportsdesk/stories.php3?ca=12&si=1748851
Hughes accepts Stokes delay
Thursday January 4th 2007

FALKIRK manager John Hughes says he is willing to wait a couple of weeks in the hope that Anthony Stokes will be allowed to return to the Bairns, WRITES DANIEL McDONNELL.
Stokes is in London to discuss his future with Arsenal amid speculation that Celtic are willing to make a bid for him while Sunderland and Charlton prepare loan moves.
It means that a return to Falkirk is unlikely but Hughes won't be signing another striker to replace him until he knows his future plans for certain.
"We are sitting tight for the next couple of weeks and if nothing happens then maybe we will get him back," says Hughes. "I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment."

passinginterest

04/01/2007, 9:37 AM

I heard this morning on NewsTalk that Sunderland, Charlton and Celtic all had 2million pound offers accepted by Arsenal. I'd like to see if he could do a job at Charlton I think.

galwayhoop

04/01/2007, 10:01 AM

Actually not true. Have it on good authority that the reason sunderland didnt take him on loan at the start of the season was that arsenal insisted he play every game.

silly me i must have fallen asleep and missed sunderland's promotion to the EPL (aka english premier league)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Irish_Praha

04/01/2007, 11:34 AM

silly me i must have fallen asleep and missed sunderland's promotion to the EPL (aka english premier league)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK maybe the loan team wouldn't agree to starting him for 5 games in a row but some sort of deal should be arranged where he is gaurenteed a minimum amount of play time using that as a starting point. You don't get if you don't ask ;) The idea would be to see how he copes in the EPL and if he is worth keeping. It would be a futile exercise if they loan him out and he only gets the odd 15 min sub appearance. With one of the Bents injured and Hasselbank being pursued by West Ham I think Charlton would agree to at least give him 3 starts in a row if they got him on loan. Barring injury and suspension of course.

pete

04/01/2007, 11:39 AM

Stokes must be the most over-rated irish players since...well the last next best thing. Do other countries fall over themselves with optimism when some young kid scores a hattrick against Dunfirmline.

Stokes has no scored a league goal against any top half of the table side in the SPL. The best league goal scored was against Kilmarnock (7th place).

:rolleyes:

Noel Hunt has even scored 8 goals in the SPL but at least 2 were against the old firm.

drummerboy

04/01/2007, 11:47 AM

He scored against Celtic in the cup.

citizenerased

04/01/2007, 11:52 AM

in fairness stokes has done well, its not just his goals, he looks like he has great technique, is strong and fast aswell, the fact that he is 18 should also be considered

Irish_Praha

04/01/2007, 12:08 PM

the fact that he is 18 should also be considered

Yes that's a very important point. Why would Arsenal want to sell him at that age? I kno they have debts but it's not as if they are desperate for 1 or 2 million. Unless they are not willing to risk that he won't make it in the premiership and his value will decrease as a result. Maybe they are afraid he will do a Mark Kennedy and play his best football as a teenager and want to cash in now.

Anyway it's all speculation at the moment. There will be a much clearer picture by the end of the month. I'll wait until a concrete decision has been made before I add any further comments.

Can EPL teams still loan out their players after the transfer window closes?
I think they can to a lower league or to Scotland?

eirebhoy

04/01/2007, 1:36 PM

Pete, I think it's obvious how good Stokes is if you saw him. His positional sense is superb. Like a young Larsson or a Solskjaer. Also, Kilmarnock were probably 2nd or 3rd when he scored against them. If it was so easy to score goals like Stokes is then a lot more players would be doing it.

DmanDmythDledge

04/01/2007, 2:39 PM

I heard this morning on NewsTalk that Sunderland, Charlton and Celtic all had 2million pound offers accepted by Arsenal. I'd like to see if he could do a job at Charlton I think.
2 million is an absolute bargain. Taking into account the amount of goals he is scoring and his age/potential he should be going for at least £10m.

galwayhoop

04/01/2007, 3:00 PM

2 million is an absolute bargain. Taking into account the amount of goals he is scoring and his age/potential he should be going for at least £10m.

when i first read this i thought are you're mad but then i thought of theo walcott. he had only played a few southampton games and arsenal (ironically) splashed out massive for him.

i can't see too much difference between standard of SPL and english championship

pete

04/01/2007, 3:06 PM

Pete, I think it's obvious how good Stokes is if you saw him..

I am not saying he doesn't have potential I just think its standard irish approach to hyping any young player too much. Talk of Ireland caps seems a bit premature.

I saw him at the B International & looked ok but he had played a club match the previous day already.

eirebhoy

04/01/2007, 3:11 PM

£10m is certainly going a bit ott. :D For £10m Celtic built an entire team. I think the absolute max Celtic will pay is £2m but with a player of Stokes' age there's obviously going to be plenty of added fee's depending on whatever.

I am not saying he doesn't have potential I just think its standard irish approach to hyping any young player too much.
I think it's more than potential though. He's definitely good enough for the Ireland squad already imo. Any other time he'd be good enough for the first team but in Keane and Doyle we've the best partnership in a long time.

Fergie's Son

04/01/2007, 3:17 PM

Not to beat a dead horse but why would Wegner sell him unless he doesn't rate him. Never a good sign imo.

eirebhoy

04/01/2007, 3:21 PM

Not to beat a dead horse but why would Wegner sell him unless he doesn't rate him. Never a good sign imo.
Obviously there's more to it than we really know. What we do know is that Stokes and his father were unhappy with him being played on the wing at Arsenal. His father was always in the papers complaining about this and that and saying he's looking at his options. If Wenger doesn't want to keep him I doubt it has anything to do with how good Stokes is. He can't be any worse than they thought he'd be at this age.

passinginterest

04/01/2007, 3:26 PM

Always worries me that he had such issues with playing on the wing. I always felt it's good for strikers to play on the wing for a bit, helps with work rate and discipline. It certainly didn't do Thiery Henry any harm. I think for 2million he'd be a good sigining for a club like Charlton. If he does well he could save them from relegation, if he struggles and they go down he gets to establish himself in the championship.

youngirish

04/01/2007, 3:28 PM

when i first read this i thought are you're mad but then i thought of theo walcott. he had only played a few southampton games and arsenal (ironically) splashed out massive for him.

There's a big difference here though that you neglected to consider. Walcott is English and was hyped up beyond all reason while Stokes is Irish and isn't.

youngirish

04/01/2007, 4:04 PM

can't we just be happy that he's talented and Irish?

Tuff Paddy that was not aimed at you so no need to take it so personally though I know you feel a bit cut because the lads you work for are responsible for most of the ridiculous and unjustified hype that's attached to the English setup even though they are pure s*ite and have been for 40 years.

Irish_Praha

04/01/2007, 6:07 PM

Walcott was hyped up beyond all reason while Stokes isn't.

Well we can try our best to change that can't we? :p

irishfan86

04/01/2007, 8:08 PM

In fairness to comments about how much Stokes is being hyped, or not hyped, he's been figuring fairly prominently on Sky Sports over the past couple of months with transfer talk etc.

McGinty

05/01/2007, 12:04 AM

definately, every time stokes scores on Soccer Saturday, Keyes gives everyone his biography. he's being hyped up more than theo walcott before arsenal imo

i think we're all pinning our hopes on stokes, cregg et al because of the dire international performances this year. Stokes is off to the best possible start that an 18 year old on loan can, but he really should stay at falkirk until the end of the season anyway. he's 18, he's got cregg and o'donnell as mates up there to get him settled, joining a premiership squad in january where he knows no-one, especially one with a VERY different morale level and atmosphere to falkirk might be a bit disheartening for the young lad.

gonna wait for somthing more concrete before talking any more myself, but if he joins celtic and becomes a success he might never get out of the SPL, joining charlton could be a bit frustrating if goals dont come right away for him as thats what they need, sunderland could be a good option but theres a lot of competition for places

Collyontour

05/01/2007, 8:16 AM

Probably Bulls*** but on BBC Transfer Rumours:

Charlton have agreed a £2.7m fee for Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes. (The Sun)

youngirish

05/01/2007, 10:23 AM

gonna wait for somthing more concrete before talking any more myself, but if he joins celtic and becomes a success he might never get out of the SPL, joining charlton could be a bit frustrating if goals dont come right away for him as thats what they need, sunderland could be a good option but theres a lot of competition for places
I dunno. Charlton hardly have a huge selection of strikers (they play Marcus Bent on the right usually) and he'll initially get his game. I'd rather see him joining them than Celtic or Sunderland (they have more strikers than they know what to do with). The ideal move for him I think would be to a a decent Championship team where he should get a run in the team even if he doesn't set the world alight initially (somewhere like Ipswich, Norwich or Coventry spring to mind).

Anyway I reckon there's some truth in this I've seen it lots of places on the web:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/acrossthewater/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=25928

Dr. Ogba

05/01/2007, 12:55 PM

I dunno. Charlton hardly have a huge selection of strikers (they play Marcus Bent on the right usually) and he'll initially get his game. I'd rather see him joining them than Celtic or Sunderland (they have more strikers than they know what to do with). The ideal move for him I think would be to a a decent Championship team where he should get a run in the team even if he doesn't set the world alight initially (somewhere like Ipswich, Norwich or Coventry spring to mind).

Anyway I reckon there's some truth in this I've seen it lots of places on the web:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/acrossthewater/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=25928

Think Charlton could be a great move with the news that Pardew's trying to start a bidding war for D. Bent which means that Stokes could be looking at regular premiership game-time to see what he's made of...Granted Charlton are an absolutely sh!te team but that hasn't really stopped Andy Reid from finding his form so hopefully the same would apply to Stokes...

If not a loan move to a decent championship side would be a good progression for him...