Anthony Stokes (F free agent b.1988)

[galwayhoop]

one of the things that annoyed me about that world cup ( and i was there) was how a lot of the irish fans went to the hotel to see the players straight after the game, i mean i was in a taxi with 5 guys who went straight to the players hotel, i didint i was GUTTED, i only wanted to go home and be depressed
what with the need to see the players, they lost, we lost? is it celebrity, or do ye guys care about the fcukin game?
showed up the real fans that time to me


p1ss off - i was absolutely devastated - didn't talk to anyone for at least 2 hours after match. the hotel wasn't a mass celebration more of a post mortem. went into itawon (sp?) soon after but was there for an hour or so.

fair plat to ya for going home afterwards thats your decision, personally i wanted to do nything to distract myself to take my mind off the whole thing and to me that involved going to the pub and getting ****ed.

if you think you are more of a supporter than me because i didn't go back to my hotel and stare at the wall then you are deluded.

having spent a small fortune at going to japan/korea and facing the ordeal of organising flights ..etc the next day having a blow out doesn't mean you're not a 'real fan'.

did you walk up croke patrick barefoot when you got home. get off your pedistol big man

[galwayhoop]

I seem to remember him scoring against Germany, the World Cup Finalists that year but perhaps they all have rubbish defenders. He has also scored against Yugoslavia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Holland, Russia, Denmark, Spain, Crotatia and Sweden: all total lightweights. DOn't let facts get in the way of sweeping statements about our all time record scorer. Who else has performed up front for US that you would like to replace him with?


personally i don't think we are better off without robbie and have respect for what he has done. However, he hasn't played for ages and starting with him on the bench against san marino would not be a bad thing - there are other players who are on form at the moment and therefore deserve to start ahead of him due to him being not at all sharp. also i feel all players, incl. duff and keane, need to feel like there is genuine competition for their places or else they slip into a comfort zone - the preverbial kick up the hole.

BTW just going through the above list it is striking how long all of them goals were (except sweden and that was a friendly) - don't know if that is a blot on robbie or our national team as a whole - the latter i fear

[eirebhoy]

Re: Feyenoord. i met a few lads from rotterdam and they couldn't stand him. he was on stg£20k per week (which is absolutely MASSIVE in dutch terms & made him top earner at the club) when he was signed and made no impact whatsoever (according to them), they never mentioned anything about him scoring against Ajax but maybe he did. anyway his impact was so little that after a couple of months they sent them to Excelsior who play in 2nd or 3rd division and are a feeder club for Feyenoord. don't know how he feared there but it is supposidily a cat standard. anyway he was back in england in no time..
I always thought Feyenoord fans liked Connolly. I had to google it and found a post from a Dutch guy on this very site:

http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=78396&postcount=7

Hey, more dutchies on the forum. joeSoap is almost right. With David Connolly Excelsior almost became champions of the first division. But Feyenoord (who owned Connolly) took him back to Feyenoord in the winterbreak. In Holland winterbreak is in the middle of the season. Excelsior fans blamed Feyenoord for they thought that Feyenoord would not let Excelsior promote to the highest division. But if it wasn't for Feyenoord they would never have get that far. Connolly was loved by the Feyenoord fans but never really made it. A year later Excelsior promoted and was relegated a year later.

See you in Kralingen Heracles Almelo....
He was a bit of a fans favourite even though he wasn't scoring, just because he always gave 100%.

Also:
" Connolly's career has been in limbo for over two years following a bust-up with then Feyenoord boss Leo Beenhakker, who told him he would never play for the club again.

Feyenoord fans have recently started chanting his name during matches and manager Bert van Marwijk responded by including the Irish international in his squad for yesterday's 3-1 league win over Ajax, now managed by Beenhakker."

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=37&si=325628&issue_id=3519

[FarBeag]

Connolly has just scored with an assist from Stokes. Sixth in eight for him now.

[theworm2345]

Connolly has just scored with an assist from Stokes. Sixth in eight for him now.
I read it was Whitehead's cross but SAFC.com says Stokes, but I dont care :)
EDIT: On the same site it said that it was Whitehead, the commentators said it was Stokes

[Condex]

I seem to remember him scoring against Germany, the World Cup Finalists that year but perhaps they all have rubbish defenders. He has also scored against Yugoslavia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Holland, Russia, Denmark, Spain, Crotatia and Sweden: all total lightweights. DOn't let facts get in the way of sweeping statements about our all time record scorer. Who else has performed up front for US that you would like to replace him with?

He made his first senior appearance for the Republic of Ireland against the Czech Republic in Olomouc in March 1998...

Any other half decent striker would have done the same in 9 years...

[tetsujin1979]

He made his first senior appearance for the Republic of Ireland against the Czech Republic in Olomouc in March 1998...

Any other half decent striker would have done the same in 9 years...

But no other striker has done it for Ireland

[Closed Account]

Stokes nets winner on Sunderland debut (http://www.rte.ie/sport/2007/0113/sunderland.html?rss)

A thousand monkeys at a thousand computers wouldn't make this mistake.

[Paddy Garcia]

Maybe we'd like him more if he was a truly committed Irishman, like Leon Best or Terry Dixon.

And what insight do you have into Terry Dixon's commitment?

Or are you out fishing again ? :rolleyes:

[Paddy Garcia]

I seem to remember him scoring against Germany, the World Cup Finalists that year but perhaps they all have rubbish defenders. He has also scored against Yugoslavia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Holland, Russia, Denmark, Spain, Crotatia and Sweden: all total lightweights. DOn't let facts get in the way of sweeping statements about our all time record scorer. Who else has performed up front for US that you would like to replace him with?

I agree, he has also had to drop back & try to compensate for a crap midfield.

[carloz]

I agree, he has also had to drop back & try to compensate for a crap midfield.


This excuse is beyond ridicioulous. Robbie does NOT have to drop back but he always gets the urge too, often when we are not under pressure. I cant understand for the life of me why he will not stay up forward. I personally would like to see Stokes and Doyle up forward. But Kenae playing left wing is a slight possibility. I remember him doing it for Spurs at home to Chelsea this year and he tore Boulahrouz asunder

[Fergie's Son]

Perhaps a Connolly/Stokes partnership will bear fruit for Sunderland.

At the very least all of this Irish strikers should at least put paid to the abomination that is Damien Duff up front.

[brine3]

I seem to remember him scoring against Germany, the World Cup Finalists that year but perhaps they all have rubbish defenders. He has also scored against Yugoslavia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Holland, Russia, Denmark, Spain, Crotatia and Sweden: all total lightweights. DOn't let facts get in the way of sweeping statements about our all time record scorer. Who else has performed up front for US that you would like to replace him with?

Yugoslavia and Turkey were in the last century. Holland was nearly seven years ago, Germany and Spain nearly five years ago. The other matches you mention were friendly matches.

Our all time record scorer hasn't been up to much in a green shirt for nearly five years now, besides the odd hat trick against San Marino.

[Fergie's Son]

In fairness most of the Irish team hasn't shown up in the last couple of years. Not just Keane but pretty much most of the team.

Those 2 goals against Israel were Keane's fault?

Henry's touch of magic was Keane's fault?

Cyprus was Keane's fault?

[Louth4sam]

He was a bit of a fans favourite even though he wasn't scoring, just because he always gave 100%.



As far as i know he scored two goals against ajax in a match that won them the game so became a bit of a cult hero.

[kingdom hoop]

This excuse is beyond ridicioulous. Robbie does NOT have to drop back but he always gets the urge too, often when we are not under pressure. I cant understand for the life of me why he will not stay up forward. I personally would like to see Stokes and Doyle up forward. But Kenae playing left wing is a slight possibility. I remember him doing it for Spurs at home to Chelsea this year and he tore Boulahrouz asunder

Keane certainly was a joy to watch in the chelsea match, and i'm sure you noticed his hard running all over the pitch. he is an effervescent character who likes to be involved in games so when he plays for ireland in a team whose passing ability pales in comparison to that of spurs it isnt surprising that he drops deep instead of waiting all day for a bit of decent service.

his mercurial talent should be embraced rather than denounced as being a hindrance to the effectiveness of the team, its hard to know if he used to be tactically instructed to stay up top or was just told to go out and play. if left to his own devices management should be aware keane is likely to roam, this isnt the players fault unless we know management specifically say not to.

he will actively look for knock downs from long balls but in more general play does tend to drop deep, a style not really conducive to wide play(plus he's a sh!te headerer!). in the san marino thread i propose a triumvirate of keane, doyle and stokes, a system that could work into the future. the teams in our group do not play exansively so i dont think we'd be too narrow, kerr toyed with the system with duff as the man playing deeper but i think keane would be far more suited to the role. in the sweden match(stans first) we played three attacking players in elliot, doyle and keane(as well as duff) who alternated around the place, granted the opposition were poor but i thought the system worked very well..i know it may border on sacrilege but on balance i wouldnt mind if duff doesnt start the next few games and in the process unlock robbie's, IMO, great talent. the relevance is that we can accomodate our captain, form striker and the subject of this thread all in one glorious fell swoop....:)

[bennocelt]

p1ss off - i was absolutely devastated - didn't talk to anyone for at least 2 hours after match. the hotel wasn't a mass celebration more of a post mortem. went into itawon (sp?) soon after but was there for an hour or so.

fair plat to ya for going home afterwards thats your decision, personally i wanted to do nything to distract myself to take my mind off the whole thing and to me that involved going to the pub and getting ****ed.

if you think you are more of a supporter than me because i didn't go back to my hotel and stare at the wall then you are deluded.

having spent a small fortune at going to japan/korea and facing the ordeal of organising flights ..etc the next day having a blow out doesn't mean you're not a 'real fan'.

did you walk up croke patrick barefoot when you got home. get off your pedistol big man


thats fair enuff
but i cant undertsand the dying need to go straight to the hotel to see the players straight after the game, for what? a joke, get an autograph, have the craic with the lads
there was a mass exodus of fans going to the hotel, im sorry but i found that bizarre

[OwlsFan]

There was a mass exodus of fans going to the hotel, im sorry but i found that bizarre

I went back to my room and got depressed. My mate, an equally committed fan for decades, went out and had a great night, met the team and put the suffering to one side. Doesn't mean he's from the "ole ole brigade" or was hurting any less than me. People just handle the disappointment in different ways.

[dr_peepee]

Connolly is the Dave Kelly of this era!! :)

[citizenerased]

Those 2 goals against Israel were Keane's fault?

Henry's touch of magic was Keane's fault?

Cyprus was Keane's fault?

Sounds like a speil of shiiite that would come out of Brian Kerrs mouth...

Keane hasnt done anything for years for Ireland,,,I respect his achievemnt but How many of his goals did he get in competitive matches. He scored a hatrick against San Marino(big deal), and still had a very unconvincing game...he has become to complacent in the Irish setup, having your place guaranteed for 7 years isnt healthy for any player

[tetsujin1979]

Sounds like a speil of shiiite that would come out of Brian Kerrs mouth...

Keane hasnt done anything for years for Ireland,,,I respect his achievemnt but How many of his goals did he get in competitive matches. He scored a hatrick against San Marino(big deal), and still had a very unconvincing game...he has become to complacent in the Irish setup, having your place guaranteed for 7 years isnt healthy for any player


All well and good saying he hasn't done anything in years, but who was there to replace him? Are you really trying to convince us that a front 2 from Connolly, The Doc, Morrison, Lee would have been better than Robbie + any one of those??

[citizenerased]

no not saying that...im just saying now that he has some competition, e.g. Stokes etc, he should be dropped. It might give him the kick up the arsse he deserves...For me Doyle is now first choice Irish striker.

[NeilMcD]

Why what has Doyle done for Ireland that Keane has not.

[republicofwhite]

EH, 5 Caps?! But much to expect from someone who's played 2 competitive matches... Best Irish Player against Germany and Scored against San Marino. He's doing well so far if you want to put it that way...

[Fergie's Son]

no not saying that...im just saying now that he has some competition, e.g. Stokes etc, he should be dropped. It might give him the kick up the arsse he deserves...For me Doyle is now first choice Irish striker.

You remind me of the English fans who were clamouring for Jon Stead's introduction when he went on a scoring spree right when he first came on the scene. Silly then and silly now.

The fact is, Keane is still one of our best strikers and only a knee-jerk reactionary half-wit would drop him for an untested 18 year old playing in the championship.

[cavan_fan]

You remind me of the English fans who were clamouring for Jon Stead's introduction when he went on a scoring spree right when he first came on the scene. Silly then and silly now.


I was about to say England have better strikers than we do, but I'm not sure that's true.

I still think now is the time to give Stokes his debut not in a year's time when he is scoring 10 a season for Sunderland in the Premiership.

[citizenerased]

You remind me of the English fans who were clamouring for Jon Stead's introduction when he went on a scoring spree right when he first came on the scene. Silly then and silly now.

The fact is, Keane is still one of our best strikers and only a knee-jerk reactionary half-wit would drop him for an untested 18 year old playing in the championship.

Hardly the same, its not like we have a clamour of decent strikers is it? Competition is healthy for any team sport...lack of it breeds complacency and thats exactly what keane has become for Ireland..Stokes is the most prolific striker that has come through the ranks for years, to include him in the squad at least might even freshen it up.

Why shouldnt he be dropped, he hasnt been in form for Ireland since 2002...nobody is indispensible, especially not Robbie Keane, he is hardly world class.

Imo it would send a message to the rest of the squad, who are contemplating easy-street.

[youngirish]

I still think all this hype surrounding Stokes is way over the top. He hasn't scored a goal in a decent league yet IMO and until he's been given at least a full season to do so I wouldn't be too excited.

All I'd say is that even if he turns out to be sh*t I'd expect at least one out of Clarke, Long, Rooney or Keogh to make the grade considering the initial promise they've showed.

[gustavo]

I still think all this hype surrounding Stokes is way over the top. He hasn't scored a goal in a decent league yet IMO and until he's been given at least a full season to do so I wouldn't be too excited.
.
Presumably then you wouldnt have had Henrik Larsson in our team then all those years when he was at Celtic then .

[eirebhoy]

I still think all this hype surrounding Stokes is way over the top. He hasn't scored a goal in a decent league yet IMO and until he's been given at least a full season to do so I wouldn't be too excited.

Yet you regard Elliott as our 3rd choice striker? I'm a fan of Elliott too but Stokes has shown a lot more than him already and is the player in form. Also, prolific SPL goalscorers are almost all proven players so chances are Stokes will prove himself too. I'm very excited about Stokes. A fantastic finisher with a great positional sense and it doesn't seem like confidence will affect him much which is important.

[gustavo]

I do agree though to an extend as Stokes has only been playing for half a seasons worth of senior football
I would rank our strikers thusly

1. Keane
2. Doyle
3. Morrison
4. Elliott
5. Stokes

[Billsthoughts]

I think Keane should be vying for a place against reid for the position behind the front man.(number 10 I think neilmcd called it) Nobody should be undroppable. I dont think he is a bad player by any stretch of the imagination but we cant rely on him to get us goals.

[cavan_fan]

I think Keane should be vying for a place against reid for the position behind the front man.(number 10 I think neilmcd called it) Nobody should be undroppable. I dont think he is a bad player by any stretch of the imagination but we cant rely on him to get us goals.

In theory this is a good idea but it either means playing 4-3-1-2 (and then where do you play Duff and who are your 3 Central Midfielders) or 4-4-1-1 which is not that different than what happens in reality, i.e. Keane drifts into Midfield all the time anyway. Works best if you have an out and out goalscorer whcih is why England had success with Beardsley-Lineker and Sheringham-Shearer. Maybe Doyle is the goalscorer, but I'd argue we havent had that sort of player in modern times, though Aldridge should have been.

[Billsthoughts]

Im thinking Ireland v czech republic....

[youngirish]

Yet you regard Elliott as our 3rd choice striker? I'm a fan of Elliott too but Stokes has shown a lot more than him already and is the player in form. Also, prolific SPL goalscorers are almost all proven players so chances are Stokes will prove himself too. I'm very excited about Stokes. A fantastic finisher with a great positional sense and it doesn't seem like confidence will affect him much which is important.

Don't forget Elliot banged in 16 goals in his first season for Sunderland even though he didn't start many games. This shows more ability IMO than banging in admittedly an impressive number of goals against some pretty poor opposition (on the whole). Elliot has also showed flashes of class in the Premiership and at International level though injury has curtailed his progress.

I wouldn't put Stokes ahead of Elliot or even possibly Morrison until he starts banging in goals regularly for Sunderland in the Championship. This is just my personal opinion. Saying that we've nothing to lose (and possibly also nothing to gain) by giving him some pitch time against San Marino.

[eirebhoy]

Fair enough. He is a player to get excited about though which is all I'm saying. :) I just think you really underestimate the SPL. Elliott scored 16 goals in 31 starts in his first season. A decent rate and I was excited about him. He also started against Croatia in November of his first season. Stokes has scored 16 goals in 18 games in his first season. That's not a decent rate, that's an incredible rate for any player. Never mind an 18 year old.

[citizenerased]

The quality of Stokes will prevail, as eirebhoy said earlier, he has an amazing positional sense, and has a real touch of class about him. Morrison should never play for Ireland again he is a disgrace, his attitude stinks, Elliot has struggled this season also....Your forgetting also that there is not a huge gulf in class between the SPL and the championship!!

[Paddy Garcia]

The quality of Stokes will prevail, as eirebhoy said earlier, he has an amazing positional sense, and has a real touch of class about him. Morrison should never play for Ireland again he is a disgrace, his attitude stinks, Elliot has struggled this season also....Your forgetting also that there is not a huge gulf in class between the SPL and the championship!!

I hope Stokes will prevail. However to suggest that Morrison's attitude stinks is ridiculous. A player who gives 100% for Ireland every single time he turns out. This is an inane comment.

[citizenerased]

100%!!! Are you having a laugh, the state of him against france and switzerland last year falling over everytime instead of trying to hold the ball up...this is a man that initially had to be coaxed into playing for ireland, as he thought hed get the call for England...if thats his 100%, he should be wooried.

[tetsujin1979]

100%!!! Are you having a laugh, the state of him against france and switzerland last year falling over everytime instead of trying to hold the ball up...this is a man that initially had to be coaxed into playing for ireland, as he thought hed get the call for England...if thats his 100%, he should be wooried.

Whatever about how he declared for Ireland, he certainly works harder than anyone on the pitch anytime I've seen him play

[Paddy Garcia]

You are mixing up ability with attitude. Not the same at all.

[citizenerased]

I disagree with that totally, if anything he can be anonymous and fade into the back ground..

[galwayhoop]

I still think all this hype surrounding Stokes is way over the top. He hasn't scored a goal in a decent league yet


i think the general impression of the SPL here is mistaken.

granted it's not close to EPL but to say the championship is much higher standard is nonsence. fair enough you have brimingham, wolves, sunderland and the likes but you also have hull, barnsley, luton & southend - hardly world beaters. in the SPL you have celtic, hearts, rangers, hibs and aberdeen are doing ok recently.

the SPL is not equal to the premiership granted but overall i would put it above the championship. in fairness how many championship teams would progress to any stage in the champions league. bot celtic and rangers have reached the last 16 in the last 2 seasons.

if people are saying he hasn't scored goals in a high enough league to be considered for ireland but will accept he is quality if he scores regularly in the championship i think that is ridiculous!

are we saying that the burnley back 4 is of much more quality than those in the SPL? i don't think so lads.

[Fergie's Son]

100%!!! Are you having a laugh, the state of him against france and switzerland last year falling over everytime instead of trying to hold the ball up...this is a man that initially had to be coaxed into playing for ireland, as he thought hed get the call for England...if thats his 100%, he should be wooried.

What game were you watching? In Paris, Morrisson was having a brilliant game until he was injured. Do you actually watch football?

[John83]

For me, the big deal isn't the level Stokes has played at, but more how long he's done it. If he continues his good form, or finds it again next season, then I'll be happier. Football is littered with players who were awesome for six months before disappearing entirely.

[youngirish]

i think the general impression of the SPL here is mistaken.

granted it's not close to EPL but to say the championship is much higher standard is nonsence. fair enough you have brimingham, wolves, sunderland and the likes but you also have hull, barnsley, luton & southend - hardly world beaters. in the SPL you have celtic, hearts, rangers, hibs and aberdeen are doing ok recently.

If you think Hibs, Falkirk, Inverness, Motherwell, Aberdeen and the rest would survive in the Championship then I think you're mistaken. Only Celtic and Rangers would beat the majority of the teams in the Championship though Rangers would even struggle to do that this season. Hearts might survive but wouldn't set it alight. Look at the attendances and funding for clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, West Brom, Palace, Leeds, Southampton, Birmingham and even Hull. Look at the players that play in the Championship. Many up and coming Premiership talents on loan, foreign Internationals (for useful International teams not Latvian and Scottish players) and ex Premiership players. To state thet the SPL is a higher calibre of league than the Championship on the whole is nonsense and surely anyone who's watched both leagues and had a quick check on the players that play in both could only agree.

All SPL players with the possible exception of the Rangers and Celtic players would consider a move to a Championship club as a big step forward for them in their career.

[eirebhoy]

If you think Hibs, Falkirk, Inverness, Motherwell, Aberdeen and the rest would survive in the Championship then I think you're mistaken.
Survive? I think you're going a bit far with that statement. To put it into perspective, Celtic are trying to get Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson off Hibs and have been for months. Charlton had a bid of £3m for the 2 of them turned down, I think they want about £5m. Now consider that Hibs do not look any worse at all without either of those players and you'll see they have plenty of quality. Hibs have a midfield as good as most in the Championship. I don't think their defence is that great though.

I'm not going to claim the SPL is a better standard than the Championship because it's not. It's certainly not easier to score in the SPL though imo and that's what really matters when it comes to Stokes.

[The Legend]

At the end of the day, despite whatever league someone is playing in, its easy to see those that have the potential to perfom at the highest level and those that can't. I think we all agree Stokes has the potential.

[dr_peepee]

Say what you want about Morrisons abillity but he's most definately commited. Watch how he celebrated the goal against the czechs with Kilbane from the bench despite having been dropped... Plus he was one of the few Ireland players to turn up and watch their 'B' counterparts play. Actions that fly in the face of some of the dispersions cast against him

Regardless of how he declared or qualifies for us Clinton Morrison is as much an Ireland fan as he is a player. That's good enough for me.

[theworm2345]

Say what you want about Morrisons abillity but he's most definately commited. Watch how he celebrated the goal against the czechs with Kilbane from the bench despite having been dropped... Plus he was one of the few Ireland players to turn up and watch their 'B' counterparts play. Actions that fly in the face of some of the dispersions cast against him

Regardless of how he declared or qualifies for us Clinton Morrison is as much an Ireland fan as he is a player. That's good enough for me.

I agree, Morrison is always hustling. I get ****ed when people say they dont care. Connolly is one of them. Morrison could of played for Jamaica or Trinidad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Morrison) too, he chose Ireland. Connolly chose Ireland when he was 16 or something. Morrison could have kept trying to improve and go with England, but he chose Ireland.