Anthony Stokes (F free agent b.1988)

[tetsujin1979]

Sunderland didn't take him on loan because they couldn't guarantee him first team football, Falkirk have so that's why he's gone there.
To dismiss him before he's kicked a ball in anger for the senior team is ridiculous, let's at least see how this loan spell goes.

[Clive the Bairn]

I am a Falkirk fan and if Stokes is any good at all he will be a first team regular.
We have no recognised fit striker (Gow and Moutinho have not hit the net in the league yet and both are better suited playing behind the strikers). Graham Barrett signed but is still recovering from injury and hasn't even been able to get a reserve game.

I read that Wenger is trying to make him into a winger but he will definetely be played up front for Falkirk.

What type of player are Falkirk getting. Pacey, strong, tricky, target man etc.

Btw Patrick Cregg is doing quite well at Falkirk and will eventually move on to a bigger club.

[Stuttgart88]

Good to hear about Cregg. eirebhoy here said that one Celtic board had a rumour that they were looking at him.

Your assessment of Stokes sounds right.

From FAI website:

Anthony Stokes (Arsenal) - Born: 25th July 1988.
Previous club: Shelbourne.
A wonderful leader who shows calmness and excellent technique under pressure. Adept at bringing his colleagues into the game. Plays for Arsenal’s reserves on the right-wing and although he would prefer centre-forward, Arsene Wenger apparently looks upon him as the natural successor to Freddie Ljungberg. Represented Ireland’s Under-21’s at the Madeira Cup triumph in February 2006.

I think it's well known that he sees himself as a forward though.

[Donal81]

If Stokes can only get a loan move to Falkirk then even at this early stage of his career I think he's going to turn out to be another Graham Barrett. If he chose a move to Falkirk over a Championship side (which I seriously doubt considering one of those mentioned, Sunderland, turned down an option to loan him) then he needs to look at himself and the people around him advising him.

After a bright start for Arsenal he faded a lot last year anyway so I don't see him being good enough to be much of an asset to Ireland.

Jesus he's 18! Very few players make it that young, give him a break. He's hardly in Richie Partridge country, is he?

He's at one of the best clubs in Europe (Arsenal, not Falkirk...) and they haven't let him go, which they could do whenever they wanted.

[Peadar]

Falkirk have a good relationship with Arsenal and I think this will be a good move for Stokes. Arsenal wouldn't let him go unless he was going to get first team football. They refused to let him go to Sunderland and sit on the bench. He's only there until the transfer window, initially. I've seen him play for Arsenal a few times, most recently at the Bergkamp testimonial and he's definitely got talent.

He is in a list of players who Arsenal have sent out on loan this season, which includes, Larsson, Bendtner, Muamba (all at Birmingham), Lupoli (at Derby), Mannone (Barnsley) and Gilbert (at Cardiff).

Wenger sees these guys as the future of Arsenal and wants them to develop with first team experience.

Falkirk are getting a very fine player.
Look after him!

[eirebhoy]

Yeah, I can't believe people are writing him off already. It's only the SPL but it's just as big a loan move as the really highly rated Lupoli made. Wenger has taken Kilmarnock striker Naismith on trial so he does at least rate the SPL somewhat. If Stokes impresses at Falkirk Wenger will take note.

Clive the Bairn - Stick around and keep us updated! :)

[drinkfeckarse]

They refused to let him go to Sunderland and sit on the bench.


Thought Quinn refused him because he didn't think he would dislodge any of his current forwards therefore mightn't get a lot of games??

[youngirish]

Thought Quinn refused him because he didn't think he would dislodge any of his current forwards therefore mightn't get a lot of games??
True. He wasn't good enough to dislodge Daryl Murphy, Chris Brown or John Stead while Bendter and Lupoli who are similar ages are banging goals in for fun at Birmingham and Derby.

He hasn't a chance at making it at Arsenal IMO. I've followed him and he had a poor season last year after a very promising initial season.

He's still only young but so are the others mentioned and they seem to be developing at a better pace than Stokes.

[Stuttgart88]

Just because freaks like Rooney are sensational teenagers doesn't mean that that's the common benchmark now.

Stokes has years on his side yet. As the Grolsch ads say "why hurry?"

Has anyone here written off Stephen Elliott or Daryl Murphy because they'e 23, 5 yrs older than Stokes?

[eirebhoy]

True. He wasn't good enough to dislodge Daryl Murphy, Chris Brown or John Stead while Bendter and Lupoli who are similar ages are banging goals in for fun at Birmingham and Derby.

Lupoli is a year older than Stokes. He scored 2 against arguably the worst team in the league. Let's see how Stokes does at Falkirk. In fact, Stokes is younger than anyone at his level at Arsenal.

[Peadar]

He hasn't a chance at making it at Arsenal IMO. I've followed him and he had a poor season last year after a very promising initial season.

He wasn't happy playing on the right.
It seemed that Wenger was trying to turn him into a winger to provide cover for Ljungberg/Hleb. Stokes had his dad telling him that he should be playing up front.

The plan seems to be to play him up front at Falkirk.
A lot of competition for that place at Arsenal. He'd be better off listening to Wenger. The last thing he needs is to turn into another Reyes.

[Clive the Bairn]

Scored his first goal for the Bairns on Tuesday in the league cup. Playing as a striker in a team lacking confidence at present.

Our biggest goal threat at the moment and an exciting prospect. Heres the goal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6qoE1hhT7E

[FootballsKing]

lets just hope he doesnt have to play with you up there for too long !

[cheifo]

Thanks Clive, good luck to the Bairns in the next round.How is Cregg playing btw?

[Clive the Bairn]

Thanks Clive, good luck to the Bairns in the next round.How is Cregg playing btw?


Cregg is usually one of our better players on the pitch. He has had to slightly curb his aggressiveness on the pitch as he would just have been suspended more often than not. He has therefore lost a little bit due to this but he couldn't carry on the way he was.

Still only 20 years old and a great future ahead of him. Unforunately it won't be that long till he's away. Our manager thinks that Ireland u-21s must be some team if Cregg can't get in the squad.

At least hes contracted till June 2008.

[tetsujin1979]

Any truth in the rumours that Celtic are interested in Cregg?

[eirebhoy]

Still only 20 years old and a great future ahead of him. Unforunately it won't be that long till he's away. Our manager thinks that Ireland u-21s must be some team if Cregg can't get in the squad.
I think if Cregg was playing for, say, Motherwell he'd be getting a bit more credit even though they're bottom of the league and weren't much better than Falkirk last season. When the average Irish person hears Falkirk they don't give the player a chance. :) Obviously the same goes for St.Mirren and even still Inverness. Just as an example, we had someone say on this forum yesterday that even they'd get a game for Falkirk. I doubt they'd have said the same about Motherwell.

[youngirish]

I think if Cregg was playing for, say, Motherwell he'd be getting a bit more credit even though they're bottom of the league and weren't much better than Falkirk last season. When the average Irish person hears Falkirk they don't give the player a chance. :) Obviously the same goes for St.Mirren and even still Inverness. Just as an example, we had someone say on this forum yesterday that even they'd get a game for Falkirk. I doubt they'd have said the same about Motherwell.

That was me but I think that's a very unfair comment to be honest and a slur to my good reputation. I don't treat Falkirk with any less respect than Motherwell, Hibernian or Aberdeen - I think they are all pure sh**e. Look at Hearts in the Champions League qualifiers for example. They were beaten 5-1 by those powers of World football AEK Athens.

Any player worth his salt should not be wasting his time in Scotland and that includes for Rangers or Celtic though I would treat them with far more respect than the rest. The English Championship is far superior as a whole to the SPL. Some Scottish teams would even struggle to survive in League 1.

Look at Richie Foran last night. Consistently he's been one of Motherwell's best players over the last 2 or 3 seasons yet he was a failure at Carlisle in League 2. Says it all.

[eirebhoy]

Look at Richie Foran last night.
Queens park are 3rd from bottom in Division 3 so a hattrick against them doesn't mean very much. :) Foran has scored 16 league goals since he joined Motherwell almost 3 years ago. Most Scottish football fans wouldn't even know him other than hearing his name once or twice. He's an average Motherwell player and Motherwell are bottom of the SPL, certainly not one of their best players.

Of course the SPL is a poor league but it's a league that is relatively easy to spot a good player that will make it at a higher level (I find that anyway).

[Stuttgart88]

I can't believe this is getting such a reaction. The guy seems to have started his senior career well. He has miles to go yet but so far the early signs are encouraging. He scored a good goal against a team that Celtic always struggle against. He's had a great technical education at Arsenal. Liam Brady speaks highly of him. So far that's all good enough for me to be cautiously optimistic this guy could be an international for us within 5 yrs. He's only 18 FFS! As I said above, people's expectations are distorted these days because of freaks like Rooney that develop so eraly.

[cheifo]

My bold prediction, he will play for Ireland within three, possibly two years.I
think Youngirish's point is that Barrett,Doherty etc also played for us so that does not mean much.However dont forget that a lot of Scottish Premier players turn out for their national side and do a decent job.This is a good move for Stokes and it will be interesting to see who goes further him or Dixon.

[Stuttgart88]

Of course the SPL is a poor league but it's a league that is relatively easy to spot a good player that will make it at a higher level (I find that anyway).Complete tangent: would Kris Boyd get in the Irish team?

[drinkfeckarse]

A born goalscorer, he'd get in my team.

[youngirish]

Complete tangent: would Kris Boyd get in the Irish team?
Instead of Doyle or Keane? Not a chance. I'd probably even have Elliot before him if Elliot can get back to full fitness.

[drinkfeckarse]

Keane is automatic but anyone with Boyds goalscoring record cannot be dismissed (28 goals in 26 games for Rangers). You saying otherwise only proves your tainted view because you think the league is "sh!te".

[youngirish]

Keane is automatic but anyone with Boyds goalscoring record cannot be dismissed (28 goals in 26 games for Rangers). You saying otherwise only proves your tainted view because you think the league is "sh!te".
Exactly it is pure sh*te which is why I wouldn't have him in the team. He wouldn't score a quarter of those amount of goals in the same number of games in the Premiership.

[drinkfeckarse]

oh and he's got something like 4 international goals in 4 or 5 games (I could be exact and check it but it wouldn't make a difference to your opinion).

[youngirish]

oh and he's got something like 4 international goals in 4 or 5 games (I could be exact and check it but it wouldn't make a difference to your opinion).

I just don't rate him man. If you do then that's cool. His International goals have been scored in 2 matches against the Faroes and in a 5-1 friendly win over Bulgaria so I wouldn't read too much into that.

If he bangs in a few goals against France and Italy over the course of the qualifiers then I'll give him some credit.

[Stuttgart88]

I'll sit on the fence as I haven't actually seen anything much of Boyd, and nothing of his international appearnces, but I have been impressed by his goal haul. You can't ignore a 30 goal a season man, even in Scotland. He's a tall, strong lad too, which is something we could do with. Put it this way, he's probably more proven than McGeady up there. More consistent anyway. McGeady's very close to our first XI.

Would Alan Lee, Daryl Murphy* or Jason Byrne do as well up there? I doubt it. Would Robbie & Doyle? I'd say, yes. Maybe not as many goals but you're not comparing like with like.

Boyd was prolific at Kilmarnock, not just Rangers, and his scoring record is miles better than players like Bellamy & Camara in Scotland, no?

I think it's fair to say if he was Irish we'd definitely want to see him tried. With the benefit of having seen him a few times we'd have an idea of whether he's any good.

* Daryl Murphy seems to be playing well. It's a pity he's injured. With Elliott out I think he'd have made the October squads. With both out, I'd expect Connolly to make it if he's fit again.

[NeilMcD]

Boyd is a bit slow but he is a natural goalscorer. I think Doyle is a more classier player but so it would be a 50/50 call between Doyle and Boyd. Boyd is not first choice exactly for Scotland as Scotland have lots of options with Miller, Mc Fadden, Boyd, Maloney, O Connor, Beattie and Riordan.

[drinkfeckarse]

Boyd is a bit slow but he is a natural goalscorer. I think Doyle is a more classier player but so it would be a 50/50 call between Doyle and Boyd. Boyd is not first choice exactly for Scotland as Scotland have lots of options with Miller, Mc Fadden, Boyd, Maloney, O Connor, Beattie and Riordan.

Agree with all that. Boyd has been likened with Ally McCoist because he gets critised for other aspects of his game but simply puts the ball in the net. I'm not saying he's the next Ian Rush and he definately needs to work on his hold up play but he is as they say "a natural finisher" from what I've seen.

Whether he would make an impact in a better side is debatable because the modern game almost demands that you have an all round game. He is young though and I would be inclined to think that even better things lie ahead for him.

[eirebhoy]

Exactly it is pure sh*te which is why I wouldn't have him in the team. He wouldn't score a quarter of those amount of goals in the same number of games in the Premiership.
I've already argued this point with you. In case you missed it... Hartson, Larsson, Viduka, Negri, Cadete, Boyd and Van Hooijdonk are the only players to have scored 20 goals or more in the last decade in the SPL. Everyone of those, bar Boyd, have proven themselves at a higher level (England, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Holland). Most of them have scored 20 odd goals those better leagues. I don't see any reason why Boyd wouldn't.

All Boyd knows how to do is score. Considering our goalscoring problems atm I think he'd walk into our team tbh and is probably exactly what we need. Have you even seen much of Boyd. You're writing Boyd off because he plays in the SPL and you were writing Stokes' career off (http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=525586&postcount=35) as soon as he joined Falkirk.

You're biased against the SPL, it's as simple as that. It's not a great league, we know that but it doesn't mean every player that plays in it are crap.


His International goals have been scored in 2 matches against the Faroes and in a 5-1 friendly win over Bulgaria so I wouldn't read too much into that.

They were his only 2 starts for Scotland and he scored 2 goals in both games.

[youngirish]

I've already argued this point with you. In case you missed it... Hartson, Larsson, Viduka, Negri, Cadete, Boyd and Van Hooijdonk are the only players to have scored 20 goals or more in the last decade in the SPL. Everyone of those, bar Boyd, have proven themselves at a higher level (England, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Holland). Most of them have scored 20 odd goals those better leagues. I don't see any reason why Boyd wouldn't.


Your argument for the most part doesn't represent the important facts. I didn't miss it. I chose to ignore it because the important facts you tend to leave out are on leaving Scotland only Viduka, Larsson and Van Hoojidonk maintained any sort of decent form and Van Hooijdonk was playing in the Championship for Forest. Anyway the Premiership and the Scottish league have drifted even further apart since many of the players you mentioned have left.

Hartson who you mention can't even bang in a goal in the Championship though he scored for fun last season for Celtic. Sutton was crap for Birmingham last year. Mc Coist couldn't score to save his life when he left Scotland.

Anyway all the above players built their reputations in decent leagues playing at a decent level before moving to Scotland. They were proven players. Boyd isn't. He is average at best. To compare him to Larsson or even Viduka is silly. To say you'd have him in the Ireland team ahead of Doyle (one of the best young prospects in the Premiership) or Keane shows you don't have a clue. And I'm not biased against the Scottish league I'm realistic. It's crap. Look at the results in Europe that their teams achieve and stop this everyone and everything is great nonsense and have a real opinion.

Scoring goals against St Mirren, Inverness, Motherwell etc week in week out is far easier than scoring against Chelsea/Barcelona/Milan etc. Boyd doesn't look good enough to cut it at the moment against better opposition IMO. He's a very limited player. The standing in the box kicking the ball in from 6 yards striker doesn't cut it in the decent leagues anymore. You have to have more going for you. Physically he also looks to be very slight another reason why I believe he'd struggle against decent opposition.

[joema]

I thought this thread was about Stokes?? Could we just leave the SPL standard debate and how good/ bad Kris Boyd is out of it

IMO ther is too much expected of Stokes, Im sure he will be a great player for us but give him time!

[Bungle]

Stokes is a top class recently turned 18 year old....that doesn't mean for one moment that he will make it but he has a great chance.Six or seven years ago,Graham Barrett was in the same situation,but through career threatening injuries fell away and is I think at Falkirk,where Anthony is.

I have seen Stokes play on a number of occasions and I can assure you that he is an outstanding talent,and of all the young Arsenal players in the youth team,is most like a Wenger type player.The Scottish Premier league may not be the best league in the world,but it does offer challenges for Anthony,in a way in which Millwall reserves doesn't.For christ sake,Liam Brady raves about this lad,and Brady isn't one to be patriotic.

I think Anthony has a very good chance to make it at Arsenal,but even if he doesn't I guarentee that he will be a very good Irish international,barring injuries.

[Billsthoughts]

and Brady isn't one to be patriotic.

.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
are you a face in disguise.....?

[drinkfeckarse]

Physically he also looks to be very slight another reason why I believe he'd struggle against decent opposition.

And with that it just proves to me that you don't know what you're talking about...have you actually seen him at all???

[livehead1]

almost like the slightly built christiano ronaldo, or peter crouch. Build has damn all to do with it.

[Stuttgart88]

I think the point is that Stokes is a tall, very athleticly built lad, not the usual 5'2" Irish forward.

[youngirish]

I think the point is that Stokes is a tall, very athleticly built lad, not the usual 5'2" Irish forward.

I meant Boyd not Stokes. I think he's gangly looking and looks quite weak for a centre forward.

[drinkfeckarse]

http://www.fourfourtwo.premiumtv.co.uk/page/TheBoys/0,,11442~634988,00.html

As I said, have you seen him at all? He is 6" 1 and 13 stone and likens himself to "other big men" like John Hartson or Chris Sutton.

Sounds "slight" to you" ???

Anyway, back to Stokes. Supposedly did well against Hibs although did miss a great one on one with the keeper.

[FootballsKing]

great to see him and falkirk doing well considering the mini irish army they are building up there. great win for them and we will all get first live sight of stokes in a falkirk shirt next week when they take on celtic! should be interesting.......if the ball ever gets up to him!

[irishfan86]

great to see him and falkirk doing well considering the mini irish army they are building up there. great win for them and we will all get first live sight of stokes in a falkirk shirt next week when they take on celtic! should be interesting.......if the ball ever gets up to him!

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing that one, would be brilliant if he could bag one against real quality opposition!

[Closed Account]

Hat-trick

[Raheny Red]

Hat-trick

I reckon he made sure that he was the first one to get the ball for the peno :p :cool:

[FootballsKing]

staunton get this boy in the ireland squad, thats 6 goals in his last 3 games. Cant be ignored for much longer i dont think!

Apparently he excelled today, not only getting a hat-trick but also 2 assists

[Paddy Garcia]

...not a chance with the likes of Alan O'Brien getting on the pitch :eek:

[Superhoops]

staunton get this boy in the ireland squad, thats 6 goals in his last 3 games. Cant be ignored for much longer i dont think!

Apparently he excelled today, not only getting a hat-trick but also 2 assists

He is not ready yet. Way behind Doyle and Keane. Scoring goals in second tier of SPL is a long way from international level.

[harry crumb]

B International coming up. Cant hurt to try him out in that.

And so what if hes playing in the SPL!:mad:

[dr_peepee]

He's only 18... Sure leave him in the 21s til he's needed. At this stage he's not gonna offer too much more than what we have available.