Anthony Stokes (F free agent b.1988)

**citizenerased** · 04/01/2007, 11:52 AM

in fairness stokes has done well, its not just his goals, he looks like he has great technique, is strong and fast aswell, the fact that he is 18 should also be considered

**Irish_Praha** · 04/01/2007, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by citizenerased

the fact that he is 18 should also be considered

Yes that's a very important point. Why would Arsenal want to sell him at that age? I kno they have debts but it's not as if they are desperate for 1 or 2 million. Unless they are not willing to risk that he won't make it in the premiership and his value will decrease as a result. Maybe they are afraid he will do a Mark Kennedy and play his best football as a teenager and want to cash in now.

Anyway it's all speculation at the moment. There will be a much clearer picture by the end of the month. I'll wait until a concrete decision has been made before I add any further comments.

Can EPL teams still loan out their players after the transfer window closes?
I think they can to a lower league or to Scotland?

**eirebhoy** · 04/01/2007, 1:36 PM

Pete, I think it's obvious how good Stokes is if you saw him. His positional sense is superb. Like a young Larsson or a Solskjaer. Also, Kilmarnock were probably 2nd or 3rd when he scored against them. If it was so easy to score goals like Stokes is then a lot more players would be doing it.

**DmanDmythDledge** · 04/01/2007, 2:39 PM

Originally Posted by passinginterest

I heard this morning on NewsTalk that Sunderland, Charlton and Celtic all had 2million pound offers accepted by Arsenal. I'd like to see if he could do a job at Charlton I think.

2 million is an absolute bargain. Taking into account the amount of goals he is scoring and his age/potential he should be going for at least �10m.

**galwayhoop** · 04/01/2007, 3:00 PM

Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge

2 million is an absolute bargain. Taking into account the amount of goals he is scoring and his age/potential he should be going for at least �10m.

when i first read this i thought are you're mad but then i thought of theo walcott. he had only played a few southampton games and arsenal (ironically) splashed out massive for him.

i can't see too much difference between standard of SPL and english championship

**pete** · 04/01/2007, 3:06 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

Pete, I think it's obvious how good Stokes is if you saw him..

I am not saying he doesn't have potential I just think its standard irish approach to hyping any young player too much. Talk of Ireland caps seems a bit premature.

I saw him at the B International & looked ok but he had played a club match the previous day already.

**eirebhoy** · 04/01/2007, 3:11 PM

�10m is certainly going a bit ott.

For �10m Celtic built an entire team. I think the absolute max Celtic will pay is �2m but with a player of Stokes' age there's obviously going to be plenty of added fee's depending on whatever.

Originally Posted by Pete

I am not saying he doesn't have potential I just think its standard irish approach to hyping any young player too much.

I think it's more than potential though. He's definitely good enough for the Ireland squad already imo. Any other time he'd be good enough for the first team but in Keane and Doyle we've the best partnership in a long time.

**Fergie's Son** · 04/01/2007, 3:17 PM

Not to beat a dead horse but why would Wegner sell him unless he doesn't rate him. Never a good sign imo.

**eirebhoy** · 04/01/2007, 3:21 PM

Originally Posted by Fergie's Son

Not to beat a dead horse but why would Wegner sell him unless he doesn't rate him. Never a good sign imo.

Obviously there's more to it than we really know. What we do know is that Stokes and his father were unhappy with him being played on the wing at Arsenal. His father was always in the papers complaining about this and that and saying he's looking at his options. If Wenger doesn't want to keep him I doubt it has anything to do with how good Stokes is. He can't be any worse than they thought he'd be at this age.

**passinginterest** · 04/01/2007, 3:26 PM

Always worries me that he had such issues with playing on the wing. I always felt it's good for strikers to play on the wing for a bit, helps with work rate and discipline. It certainly didn't do Thiery Henry any harm. I think for 2million he'd be a good sigining for a club like Charlton. If he does well he could save them from relegation, if he struggles and they go down he gets to establish himself in the championship.

**youngirish** · 04/01/2007, 3:28 PM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

when i first read this i thought are you're mad but then i thought of theo walcott. he had only played a few southampton games and arsenal (ironically) splashed out massive for him.

There's a big difference here though that you neglected to consider. Walcott is English and was hyped up beyond all reason while Stokes is Irish and isn't.

**youngirish** · 04/01/2007, 4:04 PM

Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

can't we just be happy that he's talented and Irish?

Tuff Paddy that was not aimed at you so no need to take it so personally though I know you feel a bit cut because the lads you work for are responsible for most of the ridiculous and unjustified hype that's attached to the English setup even though they are pure s*ite and have been for 40 years.

**Irish_Praha** · 04/01/2007, 6:07 PM

Originally Posted by youngirish

Walcott was hyped up beyond all reason while Stokes isn't.

Well we can try our best to change that can't we?

**irishfan86** · 04/01/2007, 8:08 PM

In fairness to comments about how much Stokes is being hyped, or not hyped, he's been figuring fairly prominently on Sky Sports over the past couple of months with transfer talk etc.

**McGinty** · 05/01/2007, 12:04 AM

definately, every time stokes scores on Soccer Saturday, Keyes gives everyone his biography. he's being hyped up more than theo walcott before arsenal imo

i think we're all pinning our hopes on stokes, cregg et al because of the dire international performances this year. Stokes is off to the best possible start that an 18 year old on loan can, but he really should stay at falkirk until the end of the season anyway. he's 18, he's got cregg and o'donnell as mates up there to get him settled, joining a premiership squad in january where he knows no-one, especially one with a VERY different morale level and atmosphere to falkirk might be a bit disheartening for the young lad.

gonna wait for somthing more concrete before talking any more myself, but if he joins celtic and becomes a success he might never get out of the SPL, joining charlton could be a bit frustrating if goals dont come right away for him as thats what they need, sunderland could be a good option but theres a lot of competition for places

**Collyontour** · 05/01/2007, 8:16 AM

Probably Bulls*** but on BBC Transfer Rumours:

Charlton have agreed a �2.7m fee for Arsenal striker Anthony Stokes. (The Sun)

**youngirish** · 05/01/2007, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by McGinty

gonna wait for somthing more concrete before talking any more myself, but if he joins celtic and becomes a success he might never get out of the SPL, joining charlton could be a bit frustrating if goals dont come right away for him as thats what they need, sunderland could be a good option but theres a lot of competition for places

I dunno. Charlton hardly have a huge selection of strikers (they play Marcus Bent on the right usually) and he'll initially get his game. I'd rather see him joining them than Celtic or Sunderland (they have more strikers than they know what to do with). The ideal move for him I think would be to a a decent Championship team where he should get a run in the team even if he doesn't set the world alight initially (somewhere like Ipswich, Norwich or Coventry spring to mind).

Anyway I reckon there's some truth in this I've seen it lots of places on the web:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/acrosst...p?newsid=25928

**Dr. Ogba** · 05/01/2007, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by youngirish

I dunno. Charlton hardly have a huge selection of strikers (they play Marcus Bent on the right usually) and he'll initially get his game. I'd rather see him joining them than Celtic or Sunderland (they have more strikers than they know what to do with). The ideal move for him I think would be to a a decent Championship team where he should get a run in the team even if he doesn't set the world alight initially (somewhere like Ipswich, Norwich or Coventry spring to mind).

Anyway I reckon there's some truth in this I've seen it lots of places on the web:

http://www.eleven-a-side.com/acrosst...p?newsid=25928

Think Charlton could be a great move with the news that Pardew's trying to start a bidding war for D. Bent which means that Stokes could be looking at regular premiership game-time to see what he's made of...Granted Charlton are an absolutely sh!te team but that hasn't really stopped Andy Reid from finding his form so hopefully the same would apply to Stokes...

If not a loan move to a decent championship side would be a good progression for him...

**FootballsKing** · 05/01/2007, 1:00 PM

Its official- he's gone to Charlton, good luck to the lad, hopefully he'l bag a few prem goals and arsenal will rue the day they let him go

http://arsenal-mania.com/news/3103448/Stokes-sold.html

**eirebhoy** · 05/01/2007, 1:08 PM

Originally Posted by FootballsKing

Its official- he's gone to Charlton, good luck to the lad, hopefully he'l bag a few prem goals and arsenal will rue the day they let him go

http://arsenal-mania.com/news/3103448/Stokes-sold.html

I don't know how official that is.