Anthony Stokes (F free agent b.1988)

[eirebhoy]

I also like the nonsense you write about Sunderland players not even getting into the Celtic squad. This shows you haven't a clue when one of their main strikers is Kenny Miller who has a Championship scoring record worse than Connolly.
Miller got 19 league goals in 04/05, the exact same amount as Bent. 1 more than Doyle got last season. He got 20 goals in his previous season in Division 1. Last season he was mostly playing in midfield (sometimes even full back) at Wolves and got player of the year even though he signed a contract with Celtic in January. This season he has more goals in the Champions league then he has in domestic competitions. You picked the wrong player if you're trying to play down the SPL...


Liam Miller anyone?
What about him? A player that signed for Man Utd after about 15 starts and excellent Champions League performances?

I'm obviously biased towards Celtic but I think it'd be better for Ireland to have a striker playing first team football for Celtic than in the lower end of the premiership.

[youngirish]

I'm obviously biased towards Celtic but I think it'd be better for Ireland to have a striker playing first team football for Celtic than in the lower end of the premiership.
Well on that point I'd have to disagree but your welcome to your opinion. I'd much rather have a 15 goal a season striker playing for Watford in the Premiership than a 20+ goal a season Celtic striker (and so would most managers). Most of the defences he's scoring those goals against are no matter what you like to believe of a far higher quality than probably any in the SPL (Possibly Celtic are the one exception but he's not scoring against his own players). Top players should be playing at the top level to constantly test themselves. How many world class players have played in the SPL in the last 10 years? I could only list Larrson. This should say it all.

[drummerboy]

You also have to remember that when teams play Celtic in the SPL, they usually pack the defence and play a containing game. When Stokes played with Falkirk, he had a hell of a lot more space that he would get if he was laying for Celtic. I don't agree with the conclusion that Stokes would have to start before the list of strikers already at Celtic, in fact I think it would highly unlikely that Strachan would start an 18 year old rookie before them.

[galwayhoop]

its a moot point but although stokes is only 18 it is unfair to call him an '18 year old rookie' when he scored 16 goals in 18 games for falkirk and is current top scorer in the SPL! i see no reason why he wouldn't be given the opportunity to start at celtic should he have chosen to play there. after that it would be up to the lad to establish himself - the old saying if your good enough your old enough!

i hate comparing players to others but rooney and michael owen were regulars with both their clubs and country by the age of 18.

[eirebhoy]

Stokes' father:

"Money wasn't the key reason. He would have been
prepared to take a drop in money to sign for Celtic.

"But there are two reasons why he went to Sunderland. They made Anthony feel really
welcome and made him realise how big a club they are.

"Secondly, the manager's determination to get him was crucial. Roy was a big hero of
Anthony's.

"We used to go over to Old Trafford to watch him play - and there is a photo in the house
of Anthony as a nine-year-old with Roy.

"It's funny - because it shows Anthony with a black eye from a schoolboy game - standing beside Roy with a look of childish wonder.
Now he's his manager.

"And while it wasn't an easy decision for Anthony to make - far from it in fact - we
just had a good feeling about it because of how Sunderland made us feel.

"Celtic's offer was good. So too was Charlton's. But we feel at home here and that's important.

"The move certainly wasn't about money. And it's not fair on the young kid to
pin that accusation on him.

"As I said, he would have taken a drop to sign for Celtic but there is a limit to
his loyalty to them. The drop would have had to have been within reason."

[eirebhoy]

Signed for Sunderland on a 3 and half year deal. £2m is the reported fee.

[greendeiseboy]

Regardless of who he has signed for and for whatever reasons he has signed for them should all be put behind and let him get on with what he does best.

He's one of our brightest prospects and we should all get behind him and wish him the best of luck in his career from here on in.

[NeilMcD]

Sunderland have won the race to sign Arsenal's highly-rated striker Anthony Stokes.

Black Cats boss Roy Keane has beaten off competition from a number of top clubs to sign the Irishman in a £2m deal.

Stokes has completed a three-and-a-half-year contract at the Stadium of Light and becomes Sunderland's fourth signing since the January transfer window opened.

The striker told safc.com: "It's brilliant to be here. It has been a hectic few days, sorting things out, and now I'm looking forward to training and playing.

"I spoke to Roy Keane about everything, he told me his hopes for the club and it helped make up my mind. I'm excited about the move to Sunderland."

Stokes raced to the top of the scoring charts in Scotland during a sensational three-month loan spell at Falkirk earlier this season, attracting a host of scouts.

He became the first player to fire back-to-back hat-tricks in the SPL, netting three against Dundee United and Dunfermline.

stokes290 New signing ... Anthony Stokes at Sunderland's training ground after signing today

Stokes scored 16 goals in 18 games for Falkirk before his loan spell came to an end on January 2.

"I'm delighted that Anthony has decided to join us," Sunderland boss Roy Keane told safc.com.

"We've beaten off competition from a number of high-profle clubs for someone who is a good, young player who can hopefully help us in our push for promotion."

Stokes made his first-team debut for Arsenal as a substitute against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the Carling Cup last season, replacing Arturo Lupoli in the 88th minute.

His impressive performances north of the Border earned him the SPL Young playe

[Irish_Praha]

Regardless of who he has signed for and for whatever reasons he has signed for them should all be put behind and let him get on with what he does best.

He's one of our brightest prospects and we should all get behind him and wish him the best of luck in his career from here on in.

Here here!
It's a done deal now so let the football do the talking :)

[galwayhoop]

"The move certainly wasn't about money. ....... he would have taken a drop to sign for Celtic but there is a limit to
his loyalty to them. The drop would have had to have been within reason."

slight contradiction there!

anyway as i said earlier out of the 3 clubs 2 were good moves and 1 was bad IMO. glad he didn't go to charlton and here's wishing him a long and successful future.

although the move does reduce the chances overall of murphy, connolly and elliot gettin a game but perhaps they have had their chances without setting the world alight

[drummerboy]

I wonder how Niall Quinn feels about paying £2million for him, when he had him up at Sunderland on trial during the summer with a vew to a season-long loan signing and decided he wasn't good enough.

I suppose Keane could be the one with egg on his face if Stokes fails to deliver.

[Fergie's Son]

Whilst 2 million is a lot it's hardly career ending for a manager. I think Stokes went to Sunderland for a variety of reasons: money, less pressure, significant Irish presence etc.

All I know is that I am now an even bigger fan of Sunderland than before!

[NeilMcD]

2 million is a good bit for a club like Sunderland. I would have thought that is most of his budget gone.

[Peadar]

I wonder how Niall Quinn feels about paying £2million for him, when he had him up at Sunderland on trial during the summer with a vew to a season-long loan signing and decided he wasn't good enough.

Or maybe he was told by Arsenal that the loan move would not be approved unless Stokes was assured of first team football. :rolleyes:

[NeilMcD]

Why you should not believe the papers.


From the Times today.

From yesterday's papers . . .

The Observer: "Celtic (are) close to signing Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes . . . the 18-year-old appears to have chosen the Scottish champions ahead of interest from Charlton Athletic and Sunderland."

Sunday Mail: "Celtic last night lost out in their bid to sign Anthony Stokes when the striker opted to move from Arsenal to Charlton."

Sunday Mirror : "Roy Keane is set to pull off his biggest coup of the January transfer window by snatching Irish wonderkid Anthony Stokes from under the noses of Premiership strugglers Charlton."

We can only hope this Stokes lad has a good engine, he'll need one when he has three clubs to play for between now and the end of the season.

[kingdom hoop]

Why you should not believe the papers.

From yesterday's papers . . .

The Observer: "Celtic (are) close to signing Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes . . . the 18-year-old appears to have chosen the Scottish champions ahead of interest from Charlton Athletic and Sunderland."

Sunday Mail: "Celtic last night lost out in their bid to sign Anthony Stokes when the striker opted to move from Arsenal to Charlton."

Sunday Mirror : "Roy Keane is set to pull off his biggest coup of the January transfer window by snatching Irish wonderkid Anthony Stokes from under the noses of Premiership strugglers Charlton."

We can only hope this Stokes lad has a good engine, he'll need one when he has three clubs to play for between now and the end of the season.

Are you Mary Hannigan in disguise?:rolleyes:

Good choice by tony. one would imagine that he now has a better chance of playing in the premiership next season.

I'm not too worried about the multitude of irish strikers at the club. realistically keane and doyle are well ahead of the rest, such that two out of connolly,murphy,stokes,elliot should make the squad, which means that keano has more control over the national team than stan; which is surely to be welcomed! you'd wonder though how happy the others are to see stokes arriving, elliot is frequently selected on the right as it is, and keane complaining that connolly and murphy arent ruthless enough(polite way of saying not good enough?)

whatever, exciting times ahead for the mackems and their growing band of irish supporters..i wonder what the locals think of what is surely a record number of irish men with integral roles in a club..the way things are going the 'dublin dons' debacle could raise its head again!(half the home matches in sunderland and half in sallynoggin!!!)

[NeilMcD]

Are you Mary Hannigan in disguise?:rolleyes:

Good choice by tony. one would imagine that he now has a better chance of playing in the premiership next season.

I'm not too worried about the multitude of irish strikers at the club. realistically keane and doyle are well ahead of the rest, such that two out of connolly,murphy,stokes,elliot should make the squad, which means that keano has more control over the national team than stan; which is surely to be welcomed! you'd wonder though how happy the others are to see stokes arriving, elliot is frequently selected on the right as it is, and keane complaining that connolly and murphy arent ruthless enough(polite way of saying not good enough?)

whatever, exciting times ahead for the mackems and their growing band of irish supporters..i wonder what the locals think of what is surely a record number of irish men with integral roles in a club..the way things are going the 'dublin dons' debacle could raise its head again!(half the home matches in sunderland and half in sallynoggin!!!)


sorry yeah I should have credited that for her, just forgot to.

[pete]

Where is all the cash Niall Quinn was talking about? Roy Keanes transfer dealings so far haven't been expensive or wrapped in much quality. So far seems to be signing experienced pros.

[citizenerased]

in fairness, in championship terms, sunderland are spending quite a bit..Connolly 2m, Stokes 2.2, Kavanagh 500k, Carlos Edwards 1.4 mil, Ross Wallace 500k, blah blah blah

[The Legend]

Well, since they have Stokes now I hope they put at least Daryl Murphy out on loan to another championship club. Cant see him putting Elliott or Connolly out on loan.

[Fergie's Son]

So he should play this weekend then? He's match-fit after all.

Sunderland also signed another midfielder. Let's hope they can continue to march up the table.

[dynamo kerry]

stokes and sunderland have a very high profile over here in scotland (ne football is heavily followed in edinburgh)

stokes will not be forgotten about quickly- if he is going to succeed he will score 20 goals in the champs and that will sell well. even gary mcsh!ttery is getting big press with his new season!

riordan was doing fab the last couple of seasons and is now a celtic benchwarmer- stokes has made a decent move in my view

[Fergie's Son]

It's a tough call regarding Celtic and Sunderland. I think he made the right choice in not going to Charlton.

He chose a place where he would have less pressure and make more money. Also, Keane might have made a great impression on him. At 18 he still probably idolizes Roy Keane and he carries more weight to Stokes than WGS. Lastly, I think Keane will be good for him and the Irish lads at Sunderland can only help.

All in all I think it's a good move.

Seriously, when did we last have this many good strikers?

[tetsujin1979]

Anthony Stokes interviewed on NewsTalk earlier: http://media.putfile.com/Off-The-Ball-interview-with-Anthony-Stokes
Bit bland to be honest, nothing really of note in it, or that we didn't already know.

Much better interview with Graham Coughlan here: http://media.putfile.com/Off-The-Ball-interview-with-Graham-Coughlan
I didn't know Stan was at the Wednesday - Man City game, but it's good to know he was checking out Whelan..

[citizenerased]

fair play to the lad, hope he bangs in the goals

[Lionel Ritchie]

I hope it works out for Stokes but i think the kid is a fcukin nutter to sign for an English Championship side (even if they are a Premiership side in waiting ...something that isn't certain) when he'd Celtic looking for him.

He's playing very high stakes now. If he'd gone to Celtic and it hadn't worked out ...I daresay Sunderland would still give him a go ...the reverse is hardly true.

[drinkfeckarse]

The lure of Keane no doubt had a major bearing. The money obviously played an important role as well. Have to agree with your post Lionel, not many people turn down Celtic for a Championship team but the above 2 reasons would be major factors.

I hope it works out for him anyway.

[pete]

Have to worry about Keanes jusgement when he spent 2m on Connolly but hes probably bought as a Championship player & like many of the others would be disguarded should Sunderland get promoted. Then again Paul Jewell spent 3m on Connolly & almost never played him.

[Billsthoughts]

I hope it works out for Stokes but i think the kid is a fcukin nutter to sign for an English Championship side (even if they are a Premiership side in waiting ...something that isn't certain) when he'd Celtic looking for him.

He's playing very high stakes now. If he'd gone to Celtic and it hadn't worked out ...I daresay Sunderland would still give him a go ...the reverse is hardly true.

:D
I doubt he cares........he wouldnt have got any more exp with celtic than he was gettin at Falkirk apart from a few makeweight european games...

[galwayhoop]

:D
apart from a few makeweight european games...

yep ... them minnows AC Milan

[cavan_fan]

yep ... them minnows AC Milan

It's very unlikely if he had signed that he'd have played in that match. The experience of Riordan would probably put off most young players from going to Celtic. Personally I'm glad he's chosen a club where he is pretty much guaranteed a starting position as he needs games. At this stage Championship games would be good for him. The only problem is that it means another Irish player will miss out, probably Murphy.

[Billsthoughts]

He didnt turn down AC Milan. The fact that celtic were chasing an Arsenal reserve tells you a lot about their standing in world football...

[galwayhoop]

The fact that celtic were chasing an Arsenal reserve tells you a lot about their standing in world football...

that is not even a valid argument ... by that twisted logic does it mean that man utd would lose to arsenals reserves ... or does the fact liverpool are chasing a hamilton acidemical player show us their standing in world football?

i think if you read through the thread you'll see i have no problem with stokes going to sunderland, however i don't think that you can call the last 16 of the champions league some make weight european game!

[galwayhoop]

i know it's off topic but i would like to hear eirebhoy's take on the riordan situation at celtic

[Billsthoughts]

then why dont you join a celtic forum and you and eirebhouy can discuss celtic matters to your hearts content.....Ireland and celtic are not mutually interchangeable.
there was a simple enough logic at work in previous post....he will be playing a higher standard of football week in week out with sunderland than he would be with celtic.

[cavan_fan]

By the way re Stokes, he played a lot of his games at Arsenal on the wing. Is this just because Arsenal have a lot of reserve forwards or is this potentially where he will play?

[galwayhoop]

then why dont you join a celtic forum and you and eirebhouy can discuss celtic matters to your hearts content.....Ireland and celtic are not mutually interchangeable.
there was a simple enough logic at work in previous post....he will be playing a higher standard of football week in week out with sunderland than he would be with celtic.

look celtic is valid in this scenario as it was one of the options for stokes to join. the riordan situation was raised by another poster and there may be a valid reason why he is not getting 1st team football or it may be the reason why stokes chose not to sign for celtic. therefore valid question

i agree with you that celtic and ireland aren't interchangable but celtic are a very valid part of this discussion as are charlton and sunderland.

not convinced that the championship is much higher standard than SPL

[Plastic Paddy]

there was a simple enough logic at work in previous post....he will be playing a higher standard of football week in week out with sunderland than he would be with celtic.

But that "logic" was flawed. Outwith two or three teams the Championship is, relatively speaking, of poor quality when compared to previous years. Stokes opted to fatten his bank balance at the expense of developing as a footballer. His loss.

GH - as for Riordan, he's smartened up his act and will now see more game time as a result. Not sure I like the fact that WGS sees him primarily as a left midfielder - after all, he's scored the best part of sixty goals in the last three seasons playing through the middle - but then I'm not the manager. And WGS is in credit on his decisions as far as I'm concerned.

:ball: PP

[Billsthoughts]

how would he develop more as a footballer at celtic then he would at Sunderland?
How????
surely your logic is flawed?
Its a poor league in Scotland full stop.
Why would he go to Celtic?
are tickets for their games against Milan so hard to come by????

[youngirish]

Billsthoughts I 100% agree with you. Anyone who would suggest that Stokes would develop into a better player playing against Dunfermiline, Inverness etc week in week out in entirely one sided games needs to pull their head out of their a*se and take a look around. He would have been better sticking to the Arsenal reserves where the quality of players is far better.

Celtic would be a s**t move for him in every way. 4 or 5 games a season against decent opposition is not the way for young players to develop their talents. The SPL has been responsible for developing the skills of exactly 0 top class young players in recent years (that includes McGeady he wouldn't get a run out regularly in a decent league at the moment). At Sunderland if he's a success he will be playing in the Premiership very soon. If he's not f**k him he wasn't good enough. Next.

[DeNiro]

Celtic would be a s**t move for him in every way. 4 or 5 games a season against decent opposition is not the way for young players to develop their talents. At Sunderland if he's a success he will be playing in the Premiership very soon. If he's not f**k him he wasn't good enough. Next.[/QUOTE]

At last, a bit of sense. Let's not finish him before he has started. If he's going to be a star, let him be. We'll talk him out of the game at this rate! Sunderland it is. Let's take it from there!

Also, we revered Keane as one of our greatest players. Surely we trust him enough to look after one of our brightest talents. He couldn't be in better hands!

[OwlsFan]

Where is all the cash Niall Quinn was talking about? Roy Keanes transfer dealings so far haven't been expensive or wrapped in much quality. So far seems to be signing experienced pros.


There isn't much money in the Championship with most clubs in debt and I doubt if Sunderland are any different. I am not sure where Quinn would get extra money beyond whatever he paid for Sunderland. He's hardly a billionaire. 2 million is quite a lot for a player untested in the hurly burly of the Championship.

With Sunderland on the same pts as Wednesday, I shall be eyeing his progress with interest ;)


Also, we revered Keane as one of our greatest players. Surely we trust him enough to look after one of our brightest talents. He couldn't be in better hands!

I see you're relatively recent to this Forum. There are many who would take a much different view but I do wish Stokes a successful career.

[youngirish]

Also, we revered Keane as one of our greatest players. Surely we trust him enough to look after one of our brightest talents. He couldn't be in better hands!
After spending 2 mill you'd at least expect Keane to persist with him if he has a slow start to his Sunderland career. He did so with Connolly. At Celtic he could easily turn out to be warming the bench most of the season.

[NeilMcD]

Quinn is just the figure head not putting up much money as far as I know.

[citizenerased]

Wether people agree about keane being one of our greatest players is irrelevant, its fact he was..your forgetting where sunderland were when he took over

[OwlsFan]

I have no doubt Keane will support Stokes because he is one of HIS signings. Managers do that. I don't think his nationality will come in to it at all in the long run. If he doesn't cut the mustard, he'll get rid of him but he will give him a chance because he's signed him. Wonder does it mean the likes of Murphy won't get his game anymore.

Positive vibes from Sunderland fans on the signing:

http://boards.footymad.net/mboard/fmb.php?tno=505&fid=240&sty=2&act=1&mid=2134573969

[eirebhoy]

i know it's off topic but i would like to hear eirebhoy's take on the riordan situation at celtic
Strachan has been asked about this a lot and he says he see's him as a left sided midfielder. He's up against Maloney and McGeady for a place there. I found it odd that he wasn't getting a lot of action from the bench (why was he signed in the first place?). I don't think Stokes would have been a backup striker. Sno is the youngest player in the squad, was bought for £70k and he was given plenty of chances earlier in the season. If Stokes was on form heading to the Milan match he'd have started.

On paper Celtic doesn't look like a great move because of the league they play in but I think it was certainly the best option. Confidence is just as important as ability in football. Robbie Keane is rarely in form at club level when an Ireland game comes around and it shows. Stokes would be getting plenty of shooting practice and most likely plenty of goals.

Celtic have played almost all of Europe's best teams in recent years. If he's good enough to step up to that level then he's good enough to play for Ireland. As I said, you can always use the poor league excuse but what players has that affected? Larsson? Viduka? Di Canio? van Hooijdonk? Cadete? Nakamura? Sutton? All those players improved in their time at Celtic.

You don't need to be playing week in week out in the premiership to fulfil your potential. Stokes would have played around 15 huge games a season against decent opposition. The rest of the time he's scoring goals and high in confidence. I think Robbie Keane would be much better player for Ireland if he joined Celtic.

He has moved to Sunderland now anyway but you won't keep me away from a Celtic discussion. :)

[The Legend]

irrespective of whether you think SPL is better than the Championship or not, i know that the premiership IS a better standard, and there is hope of him playing there next season if Sunderland can get a run of form. That alone would sway myself to join Sunderland if i was the player.

[OwlsFan]

I think we've just seen why Arsen Whinger felt he didn't need Stokes: his babies have just beaten Liverpool's semi-babies 3-6 at Anfield in the Carling Cup quarter final. Some awful defending but enjoyable game it has to be said and Arsenal able to break quickly. He is on record as saying Stokes just wasn't fast enough for a forward of his.

[tricky_colour]

Stoke's chances of getting into the Premiership must be pretty slim, yes Sunderland may make the play offs but thats a bit of a lottery at best a 50/50 chance. Automatic promotion would require a phenomenal run. Charlton with a get out clause, should they drop, would have been a good choice. Maybe he has a get out clause if Sunderland fail to get promoted?
Eitherway I think he is a good buy at £2 million, what he might gain in value outweighs any value he might lose IMO.