Anthony Stokes (F free agent b.1988)

[tetsujin1979]

Just Andy Cole then.
Upsons best days were at Highbury and the rest aren't too great.
Pennant was trouble.
Which Wright would that be?
Sidwell just joined Chelsea
Pennant played in the Champion's League final
Birmingham were relegated the season Upson was out injured
Bentley's been called into the England squad for the Brazil game.
Not all successes, granted, but precious few failures

[Risteard]

and wright?

[tetsujin1979]

and wright?
which Wright is that??

[youngirish]

Just Andy Cole then.
Upsons best days were at Highbury and the rest aren't too great.
Pennant was trouble.
Which Wright would that be?

We'd take any of them in a minute (bar probably Pennant though who's a bit sh*te).

[Risteard]

which Wright is that??
Exactly

[dr_peepee]

Richard Wright?? But he's a graduate of the Ipswich academy...

[kingeric]

it's not just a case of good young players Arsenal have let go and regret- but also the lack of young british & irish players they bring through the ranks.

Ashley Cole (aged 23) is the last englishman to come through and maintain first team football at Arsenal that I can remember-

Parlour before that..?

The likes of Fabregas, Clichy, Djourou, Denilson are not graduates of the Arsenal Academy- they are simply bought in when other clubs have developed them.

Because it is Wenger himself that brings these players in- he gives them more opportunities to prove themselves than the young british and irish lads.

How many opportunities the useless Aliadiare had? Lupoli too..

I think Stokes realised this, and will benefit at Sunderland where, if he keeps his head down, he will get chances to play.

[galwayhoop]

Sidwell, Andy Cole, Upson, Pennant, Bentley Wright spring to mind..

couldn't see too many of these lads (col€ excluded, and btw he forced himself out as opposed to being let go) getting a game at arsenal - even now after they have proved(ish) themselves with lesser clubs.

[Sligo Hornet]

[QUOTE=Bungle;695049]Being the man who started this thread, I'm going to stick my arse on the fence and say that Stokes will be a top player.


This does make sense. Surely if you are on the fence, it means that you do not have a strong view as to wheter Stokes will be a top player or not.


Haven't you ever seen Rainbow?..........Bungle's Arse is so big it would have to be more over one side than the other!!........and another thing, why is it that Bungle wears nothing during the day, but puts on pyjamas at night??:confused:

[kingeric]

couldn't see too many of these lads (col€ excluded, and btw he forced himself out as opposed to being let go) getting a game at arsenal - even now after they have proved(ish) themselves with lesser clubs.

that's not the point. the point is they were never given a chance to prove if they were good enough.

and if your about to respond " if they were good enough-they'd get their chance"- see my previous point .

[Risteard]

Which Wright Kingeric?

[galwayhoop]

that's not the point. the point is they were never given a chance to prove if they were good enough.


i think you missed the point sunshine. the players were listed in response to this comment:


.... but i think generally Arsenal don't let players go and regret it.....

as examples of players who they are supposed to regret releasing i can only assume.

nothing at all to do with players being given a chance to prove themselves.

if they are not good enough to make the arsenal team now then do arsenal regret releasing them? answers on a postcard

[kingeric]

i think you missed the point sunshine. the players were listed in response to this comment:



as examples of players who they are supposed to regret releasing i can only assume.

nothing at all to do with players being given a chance to prove themselves.

if they are not good enough to make the arsenal team now then do arsenal regret releasing them? answers on a postcard

So if Arsenal release a player without giving him a proper chance..and that player later goes on to prove himself at a top club- you don't think they'd regret it??

i beg to differ sunshine;)

[galwayhoop]

So if Arsenal release a player without giving him a proper chance..and that player later goes on to prove himself at a top club- you don't think they'd regret it??

and you are calling reading, birmingham and blackburn top clubs??? i'm sure arsenal would not regard these players as having proved themselves with top clubs.

the fact is arsenal have released many, many players over the last few years and you will find few, if any, that have gone on to bigger and better things. the players who were listed in this thread are no better than what arsenal have and therefore why would they regret releasing them??

[tetsujin1979]

the fact is arsenal have released many, many players over the last few years and you will find few, if any, that have gone on to bigger and better things.
In fairness, it's hard to do much better than Arsenal, but most promising players they released or sold in the last few years are still making a living out of the game, which isn't a bad thing.

[galwayhoop]

In fairness, it's hard to do much better than Arsenal, but most promising players they released or sold in the last few years are still making a living out of the game, which isn't a bad thing.

no doubting that.

however i don't think they are tossing and turning at night worrying about the ones that got away.

[youngirish]

no doubting that.

however i don't think they are tossing and turning at night worrying about the ones that got away.

In fairness galwayhoop Arsenal have a terrible record when it comes to keeping hold of talented young home grown players many of whom then go on to play at the highest level. They should be p*ssed off with releasing the likes of Andy Cole, Sidwell and Upson for little or no money as all of whom have went on or could have gone on to command huge transfer fees which would have been welcome in the Arsenal kitty, something that looks a bit empty at the moment. Ignoring this fact of them losing out on money all three could easily have been first team players at Arsenal during their careers. Is Senderos really any better than Upson for example? In the absence of Viera could Sidwell not have done a job in that Arsenal team that no one else seems capable of doing at present?

Pennant wasn't a product of the Arsenal academy btw he was bought from Notts County I think for a fair amount of dough and he played plenty of games for them so they got a good look at how rubbish he is first hand before letting him go. On that decision I agree though he also has commanded a huge transfer fee so again it's money lost.

[tetsujin1979]

Pennant wasn't a product of the Arsenal academy btw he was bought from Notts County I think for a fair amount of dough and he played plenty of games for them so they got a good look at how rubbish he is first hand before letting him go.

Don't think he was released for being rubbish, think it had more to do with his frequent breaches in discipline, and brushes with the law

[tetsujin1979]

Interview with Stokes and highlights from the U-19 qualifying series here: http://www.rte.ie/tv/obsport/

[galwayhoop]

In fairness galwayhoop Arsenal have a terrible record when it comes to keeping hold of talented young home grown players many of whom then go on to play at the highest level. They should be p*ssed off with releasing the likes of Andy Cole, Sidwell and Upson for little or no money as all of whom have went on or could have gone on to command huge transfer fees which would have been welcome in the Arsenal kitty. something that looks a bit empty at the moment. Ignoring this fact of them losing out on money all three could easily have been first team players at Arsenal during their careers. Is Senderos really any better than Upson for example? In the absence of Viera could Sidwell not have done a job in that Arsenal team that no one else seems capable of doing at present?

doctors differ and patients die!

what is a club supposed to do? hold onto every youth player they have and then hope to get a large transfer fees for them? clubs decide on a player at an early age - if they are good enough to make it at the club in terms of the first team they keep them - if not they release them - they make a judgement call and arsenal are generally not found wanting in this regard.

the only reason the players you mention have got high transfer monies is because they have played first team football elsewhere and got exposure. young players are released because the club feels that they won't regulary make the first team, therefore they would not get exposure and consequently then how would you get a large transfer fee for them?

andy goal: imo he is not the bee all and end all that people think. he was released from arsenal as he wasn't cutting it (i.e. not getting near the first team), had a good season or two in the lower leagues and then went to newcastle where again he had a good couple of years. he was the main man at newcastle where absolutely everything went through him, a bit like heskey at leicester, before moving to man utd where beckham made himself and dwite yorke look like world beaters, yes he has scored a hatfull of goals but arsenal's strikers over the last few years have been top notch and i don't reckon that andy cole would have been the first name on any team sheet with them. i know he is 2nd or 3rd is the premiership scoring but he has been in the premiership for about 15 years and his conversion rate has always been suspect. yes he has been good (probably the best of those mentioned) but not a great player imo.

steve sidwell has had a decent few seasons with reading but it remains to be seen how he performs with a big club. he was sold to reading as he couldn't break into the arsenal first team.

matthew upson! ffs what has he done - yes he has shown potential but he looks to be a seriously injury prone player. maybe the upcoming year will tell a lot but again not a sleepless night scenario i would think. oh and arsenal bought him from luton at 18 yrs old so is hardly a home grown or academy player. since he left arsenal he seems to have had a serious injury each season.

back to the earlier point - i think generally Arsenal don't let players go and regret it.
there are anomolies but they are the exception rather than the norm.

[Ordinary Fan]

Arsenal let Stokes go because he is no better that 4 or 5 other stikers available. Thwy wanted him to play on the righ-side of midfield but he wanted to stay up front.

Move to Sunderland and plays most of his games on the right-side of midfield. McCafferty belives that stokes should only play as a striker and reckons if he gets his head down and learns to take the right options he will become a top striker.
He looks the business whenever I have seen him but is to selfish and rarely looks to play anyone else in. All will be revealed in the next 12 months.

All the wonderful young players at Arsenal are imports and not products of the youth accamady. Young players get a good schooling in football there but have little chance of getting into the first team.
Arsenal exploit the anomolies of football where Spanish (and French ?) clubs are unable to offer full contracts to players until they are 18 whichih is different to the English system.

If an englidh or Irish lad wants to make the grade he must be fluent in French or Spanish.

[limerickblue]

McCafferty hasnt got a clue. do u honestly think that stokes will listen to him over roy keane. you must be joking

[tetsujin1979]

McCafferty hasnt got a clue
You clearly don't have a clue if you believe this, if anything McCaffrey knows more about what's going on than anyone in the FAI

[kingeric]

You clearly don't have a clue if you believe this, if anything McCaffrey knows more about what's going on than anyone in the FAI


agreed- he's a top youth manager. actually has football knowledge, unlike Don Givens etc i'd say he'd do a better job than Stan, but let's not go there...

[Stuttgart88]

I have to say I was very disappointed by the way McCaffrey's U19s approached the second half against 10 man Germany. I accept that Judge(?) getting injured deprived us of our best wide option but we played with no tempo or precision. We played much better in first half.

When Sheridan came on we just played the ball longer and longer, making our extra man redundant & Germany coped really easily in the end.

McCaffrey has to take most of the blame in my opinion.

[cheifo]

Yeh and there is the Garvan situation which Caffery has to take ssome responsibility for.Arsenal let Stokes go relunctantly but in the end got 2.5 million for him.Made money on Larsonn,Bently and Pennant as well,Maybe the new Stadium costs influenced these decisions.Suprised to see them let Fabrice Muamba go to Brum.Supposed to be excellant for a 19 year old.

[Soko]

Will this guy ever pull on a green shirt as a full international? I have my doubts, he's got a lot of problems that he needs to sort out. He'll be lucky if he even gets a rub with Sunderland

[Paddy Garcia]

Will this guy ever pull on a green shirt as a full international? I have my doubts, he's got a lot of problems that he needs to sort out. He'll be lucky if he even gets a rub with Sunderland

Has something else just happened?

[Soko]

I don't actually remember posting that, too much beer

[Stuttgart88]

He already has pulled on an Ireland shirt in a full interntaional, but not a green one. They wore white in San Marino and thank God he did come on.

[youngirish]

I don't actually remember posting that, too much beer

At 4 o clock on a Sunday afternoon? Alco.

[livehead1]

At 4 o clock on a Sunday afternoon? Alco.

Nothing wrong with a few pints on a Sunday, its my only day for a few pints and i bet i aint the only one! Fair play to ya!

[RiffRaff]

Nothing wrong with a few pints on a Sunday, its my only day for a few pints and i bet i aint the only one! Fair play to ya!

I heard Anthony Stokes like a few pints of a sunday as well, thats when he's not at the bookies

[Soko]

I got home at 3.30 and for some reason got on the net. That post was inspired by a conversation with some people in a pub about Mr. Stoke's habits outside of football. He needs to get his life in order, he's already dodged a couple of bullets

[passinginterest]

Mr Stokes was a judge at Miss Ireland on Saturday night.
Apparently he has a bit of an on/off thing with Miss Heaven, saw him chatting to her after the show.

[macdermesser]

I got home at 3.30 and for some reason got on the net. That post was inspired by a conversation with some people in a pub about Mr. Stoke's habits outside of football. He needs to get his life in order, he's already dodged a couple of bullets

starting to sound like Sunderland's last great Irish white hope Sean Thornton .. sadly. Hopefully, Keane will get the best out of him .. ultimately for the good of the irish team.

[SunderlandBohs]

Stokes thinks he's made it. Hasn't made a great start with us but has shown some signs. He needs to knuckle down. If he shows he can give us 100% on pitch & desire to play for the club he'll do fine. But if he starts acting like he's King Sh*t, he'll be on the long road to Doncaster just like Mr. Thornton. Spend more time working on the training pitch at the AOL & less time chatting up birds in Idols Tony man! :mad:

[eirebhoy]

I think people are being way too harsh on the lad. He seems like a decent guy from his interviews I've listened to. He'd be playing for Celtic now if it wasn't for his father so I don't blame him for that. ;)

[KopKiller]

I'm sure Roy Keane can sort him out if he is stepping out of line. He went through the same thing and turned out to be a half decent player ;)

[Bungle]

The way people are having a go at this lad sickens me.I can't help but think there's a few on here who would love to see him **** up.

He's on his pre-season. Let him enjoy himself. He's 18 not 28. As I've said before, if he does start to play the superstar Keano will knock him down a peg or two.

[cheifo]

Could be a suprise package this season if he gets the chance to play up front.
Good physique, has a good shot but needs to become more aware of his team mates.

[livehead1]

have we ever had an many strikers in the premiership

keane
doyle
long
macken
stokes
murphy
elliott

[Qwerty]

I doubt it but the key thing is how many will get first team football on a regular basis, Keane & Doyle are the only certs. Might be better if the other were playing in the Championship regularly.

[Soko]

He's lucky he's not playing for Celtic. If Keane can't get him in line then I doubt he'd have a chance elsewhere under a boss with less of a roving eye. People are not giving him reams of abuse for no reason, the guy lives his life like a first year arts student ffs

[eirebhoy]

I'm just curious as to how do so many people know so much about him and his personal life?

[Soko]

He's plays football for Sunderland. He's from Dublin. People either see what he's at or hear about it pretty quickly

[kingeric]

He's plays football for Sunderland. He's from Dublin. People either see what he's at or hear about it pretty quickly

he's 18..on pre-season ffs. give him a break. he's got a bad name for partying, so any time he's out the story's going to turn to "he was drunk" and then that will change again and again. i doubt long/ keogh/ garvan others his age were tucked up in bed at 9 o clock every night- it's just cause stokes has this reputation that we keep hearing rumours.

next season will tell all.

let's hope he does get his head down because if he does he'll be a seriously good player.

and soko if all you know about him is that he plays for sunderland, comes from dublin and you've 'heard stories':rolleyes: maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge him.;)

[Bungle]

he's 18..on pre-season ffs. give him a break. he's got a bad name for partying, so any time he's out the story's going to turn to "he was drunk" and then that will change again and again. i doubt long/ keogh/ garvan others his age were tucked up in bed at 9 o clock every night- it's just cause stokes has this reputation that we keep hearing rumours.

next season will tell all.

let's hope he does get his head down because if he does he'll be a seriously good player.

and soko if all you know about him is that he plays for sunderland, comes from dublin and you've 'heard stories':rolleyes: maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge him.;)

Yeah spot on. Stories are often bull****. The lad might like a party or two, but he's only 18 and he is or was on his pre-season. Keano wont let this lad get out of hand. Speaking of Garvan....I've heard one or two stories about him, but that's what they probably are...bull**** rumours started by young fellas who are jealous of what he's doing.

[Soko]

The stories are not bull**** and some are more serious than you might believe. I say he's dodged a bullet and should get himself straight, he's got a great oppotunity

[Stuttgart88]

Speaking of Garvan....I've heard one or two stories about him, but that's what they probably are...bull**** rumours started by young fellas who are jealous of what he's doing.I'm hoping his "post viral syndome" was just that and not a Lee Sharpe style cover up. I presume that's what you're alluding to.