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For the Brazil game Hunt because he has been playing well over a longer period than Murphy. Duff has to start improving (out for a long time with injury and playing not for but in a circus) and ATM I would have Murphy ahead of Duff.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
If Stokes keeps getting games and keeps himself in good shape he will come good.Hunt has played well on the right for Reading this season which gives us another option there.
Duff has to start against Brazil... He needs a shot in the arm.. He deserves it.. Sometimes when it's not going so well at club level, I believe the change of scenery international level can provide the spark again. Leaving him out against Brazil will only compound things on his laboured comeback, especially if it transpires he hasn't actually "lost it". Duff has done enough in his Ireland career to warrant a starting spot against Brazil as an attempted "springboard" if you know what I mean.Quote:
Originally Posted by Noelys Guitar
Not detracting from the form of Hunt and Murphy by any stretch.... I just think a fully fit and on form 28 year old Damian Duff has more to offer than the two lads and it's Don Givens duty to aspire to that...There's more to be gained than lost.
Telegraph gave him man of the match.Quote:
Originally Posted by Noelys Guitar
Was Kelly asleep for Murphy's goal? It was on TV with the sound down and I saw it while watching Arsenal on Albanian TV.
How did Stokes and Miller do?
I agree with the doc, Duff deserves his place. Both he and Hunt can play both wings which I think is useful.
Did Stokes play well?
From the 10 minutes that I saw, Birmingham were absolutly awful so I wouldn't read too much into the game.
Worse game I have seen in quite a while. Miller was busy, Murphy was game too. Stokes was average though had one fantastic piece of skill and cross. Kelly was very average.
His pace is open for debate although he's not slow but would you really question is strength? He seems a strong enough guy to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larks
Average is good enough for Stokes on the wing tbh. As long as he's finding teammates with his passes. It's when he starts losing possession that it gets frustrating but he's not a winger in a million years.
Keane considering Stokes loan
"I've said many times before that Anthony's a young man and we can't expect too much, too soon, from him.
"We are all in danger of that, especially when players come to Sunderland. But he is learning his trade and a few games in the reserves will do him no harm.
"If he had to go out and get some other games at a Championship or League One club, I don't think it would do him any harm.
"We've had an enquiry about him regarding a loan move and I'm weighing it up. The problem is we haven't got the biggest of squads."
Linked with Leeds on the back of the Herald today. Would Keane loan him to a club Staunton's at or would Quinn have some influence?Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
Are Leeds becoming the new Sunderland, a refuge for the Irish hopefuls?
He should have signed for Celtic. Getting played in position, getting goals, playing against decent teams 10 times a year, playing against physical teams every week. He'd be better than that big Dutch stick they have.
Again, we're too quick to judge kids. Just because Rooney, Ronaldo and Fabregas are world class at 20 or younger doesn't mean a player hasn't got his best years ahead of him aged 24 or even older.
My young fella isn't toilet trained yet but listening to some mums I know their lads who are 3 months older are fcuking concert pianists. Let them all develop at their own pace is the politically correct line. Same applies to young footballers.
There are some lads on Ireland trips who are not toilet trained by the way
A loan move would do Stokes some good. I've only seen him very briefly and am not really impressed so far, but he's young and just needs to keep learning and gain some consistency. Hopefully if he gets a loan move to the championship (maybe even league one) he'll get some goals and it'll give him confidence going into next season with Sunderland.
Stokes scored twice tonight for the reserves, I really do hope this guy turns into the player he can be, needs to move away on loan for a while do.
heard on Setanta, on the Steve Claridge phone in show just now that Stokes and a couple of other players were omitted from Sunderlands squad today due to their socialising habits in recent days.
i havent even checked todays team for Sunderland, but if this is true then how close is this guy to the exit door of Keanes lot?
just checked, and Stokes definately wasnt involved today. neither was Murphy, I only had half an ear on the show but i think he may have been mentioned in relation to this also.
Was roumered that Sokes murphy Chopra and Richardson were all omitted due to disciplinary reasons.... But Keane has since cited that as "Utter nonsense"... Hard to say. Murphy gone from starting to not even being in the match squad??? Richardson's one of there better players and you'd assume would start when fit. Strange?
reid and o donovan started, with mcshane and harte on the bench
well, with Miller just put on the list in an attempt by Keane to install discipline and lay down a marker, im guessing he'd rather dismiss this as nonsense coming so soon after,as it doesnt reflect well on his rule there, now does it?Quote:
Originally Posted by dr_peepee
and you are right, id expect some of those guys to be involved today, certainly Murphy and possibly Richardson.
Whatever about Murphy, Richardson is a certain starter. Even Harte got a run today!!:DQuote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
But Stokes hasn't shown too much on the pitch and I don't think it would hurt his squad at all if he was let go this summer, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's transfer listed. I wouldn't think he'd get attention from any other than decent Championship sides. It will be his own fault, but can you blame him? Trying not to waste the best years of his life on a massive salary, living it up?
According to the previews of the game, Stokes was omitted from the squad because of a virus
From http://www.football365.com/story/0,1...299600,00.html
Quote:
while Anthony Stokes has not trained all week because of a virus.
As long as it wasn't the same virus that Shane Long had against Cyprus.
Stokes, Miller and Harte alldue to play for the reserves tonight VS Everton: http://www.safc.com/news/?page_id=14456
Also Billy Dennehy will be playing for Sunderland, against his brother Darren who plays for EvertonQuote:
A virus kept the Irishman out of last weekend's Premier League game against Chelsea.
I don't know if this article has been posted before, but it talks a lot about Stokes transfer deal in January 2007. Turns out he went to Sunderland for the cash....
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...et-431342.html
From Arsenal unknown to Keane's golden shot, Anthony Stokes has world at his feet
An 18-year-old's scoring spree led to Sunderland pipping boyhood idols Celtic for his signature.
By Nick Harris
Tuesday, 9 January 2007
The honour of being the leading marksman in Scotand's top division since 1998 has been shared among only four players: the incomparable Henrik Larsson (five times), Mark Viduka, John Hartson and Kris Boyd, whose 32 league goals for Kilmarnock and Rangers last season came in at a ratio of 0.88 goals per game.
Anthony Stokes is still 18, but in 16 league games on loan at Falkirk from Arsenal before Christmas, he scored 14 SPL goals * at a ratio of 0.875 a game * and two more in two CIS Cup games. He remains the SPL's top scorer this season, and had he stayed he might have held on to the mantle.
Plenty of higher-profile forwards have struggled to hit such heights north of the border, let alone in their teens.
The spree that rocketed Stokes to stardom * and now Sunderland * had Falkirk's manager, John "Yogi" Hughes, struggling for superlatives.
"The best Christmas present I could have," he added, of the now forlorn hope that Stokes' loan spell would stretch in 2007.
Stokes scored his first senior goal on 19 September in the CIS Cup at Inverness, but it was what happened between 14 October and 7 November that has changed his life: one goal in the league against St Mirren, then two at Inverness, hat-tricks against Dundee United and Dunfermline (the first back-to-back hat-tricks in the SPL) and then a goal against Celtic in the CIS Cup quarter-finals. Falkirk won on penalties.
Stokes scored in consecutive games in late November (also getting sent off against Motherwell for diving), and then, in his last match, after four blanks, hit a third hat-trick, against Inverness on 30 December.
He is hugely promising, blessed with pace, versatility (he can play up front or in midfield) and clinical finishing with both feet. He can also showboat, for better or worse. Against St Mirren in October, Falkirk won a last-minute close-range free-kick with the score at 1-1. Everyone in the ground expected Stokes to blast it but he attempted an extraordinary chip, which went just past the top corner. "The guy is a maverick, that's just his style of playing," Hughes said. "If it had come off it would have grabbed all the headlines and that's the kind of thing he tries in training." Against Dunfermline, he scored his hat-trick with his "weaker" left foot. He also wound up the opposition by playing keepy-uppy during the match. Up to 10 times. Hughes, in a training exercise, clattered Stokes for his exuberance.
If there are other reservations, then they come in analysis of who Stokes has scored against. Apart from Celtic (in the CIS Cup), all his goals in Scotland came against the current bottom six.
So while prolific with Falkirk, it is premature to say that he comes with a guarantee at the highest level. Evidently Arsène Wenger, albeit with a rich crop of experienced forwards, does not see him as a Premiership regular in the near future. Why, otherwise, would he let him leave after three years of development?
For Roy Keane, the question is academic. "We've beaten off competition from a number of high-profile clubs for someone who is a good, young player who can hopefully help us in our push for promotion," he said yesterday. Sunderland are three points off the play-off places.
It is believed Stokes will earn a basic wage of £14,000-plus a week. Money is relevant because the evidence suggests it was that, more than any other factor, that dictated where Stokes went.
"Anthony didn't sleep the night after learning that Celtic had an offer accepted [last week]. We thought it was a done deal," the player's father and advisor, John, said on Sunday. "He loves Celtic and was prepared to accept less money to play for them. When he gets up in the morning he listens to Celtic songs and by the time he goes to bed at night he's watched Celtic videos." Yet there was only so much less money he was willing to accept. It is understood Celtic offered a deal worth " only" £8,000 a week. So Celtic lost out, as did Charlton, whom Stokes had decided to join (on £14,000 a week) before Keane, his hero, made a last-minute intervention.
Stokes joined Arsenal at 15 from Shelbourne but never started a game for the Gunners in any competition. Last summer, he trained with Sunderland, then still managed by Niall Quinn, but Quinn opted against a loan move. Instead, Arsenal's head of youth development, Liam Brady, sent the player to Falkirk and into the care of his friend Hughes.
In November, Stokes said: "I'm an Arsenal player so my main aspiration is to get into the first team." Keane and Sunderland will be hoping they reap the benefits of Stokes' various dreams * at Celtic, Arsenal and elsewhere * not coming to fruition.
I'd have gone for the cash too, that's quite a big wage difference there.
Who knows when an injury could happen?
It's not as if he decided to take more cash to sit on a bench somewhere, I really don't see the relevance of posting this right now.
Every time there's a hint of anything going wrong for Stokes there's an element here looking to have a go at him.
"He wasn't in the squad, he must have been drinking the night before."
Then we find out he has a virus.
Give it a break lads.
The forgotton man Stokes scored twice in the last couple of minutes last night to rescue Sunderland from defeat by Northampton. Also nice to see that one of the goals was scored from a cross by Andy R.
Both of them were from Andy Reid set pieces, a free and a corner
Even better :)
2nd one was a crackin header aswel.
Colin Larkin scored in this game also
So what's the deal with this guy, then? We all had such high hopes. Is this Palace loan move a turning point or the last chance saloon. Can't help thinking he was the kid with the holes in his jeans Keane was referring to in his recent interview.
Forgot he was even alive for the last few months.
Wasnt he also at sheffield united for a while?
i recall hearing that he moved. dont recall reports of him playing or scoring though.
He played 12 games for Sheffield Utd but in midfield.
Came on after an hour for Palace last night in place of Scannell so again probably won't be playing in his preferred striker role for them.
Even when he played for Ireland in America he was playing as the support striker for Long. Why oh why don't teams just play him in the role he was succesful with for Falkirk?
Stokes playing up front today with Kuqi and he's scored. Scannell on the bench.
Apparently a quick pull back left the mercurial king of defenders* Sean St Ledger for dead before firing home with a great goal.
*As per one Preston fan.
Palace boss Neil Warnock on Stokes:
"Sometimes players can lose their way but Anthony knows that everybody can't be wrong.
"He's looked in the mirror and he hasn't had many takers in terms of clubs coming in for him.
"It's great for us to be able to take him, at a realistic price as well, and he's shown what he can do."
Stokes happier with central striking role: http://www.southlondonpress.co.uk/tn...central%20role
Has he signed permanently for Palace or was Warnock just talking about the loan arrangements.Quote:
Originally Posted by co. down green
So 2 years since he left Falkirk and we can finally start judging his goalscoring ability outside of the SPL. Hopefully it's not 2 years wasted where he could have been improving his positioning and movement in his proper position.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979