Yeah I think sunderland will deffo be a good move for him, and its somethin sunderland really need as well as all their strikers(inc Elliot) are extremeley wasteful!!! It will be a nice test for as well.
,They are about 4 points off the payoffs, all they need as a decent striker like stokes to propel them,,,the championship is wide open..Ther is also no guarantee Stokes will play in the premiership next season, Sunderland are'ny exactly flying at present
Sunderland was/is a shocking career choice. Roy Keane has played a little bit too much football manager. Bringing players in with his left hand and pushing them out with his right. Mark my words, Tony will regret it.
In fairness, I think he will get more games with Sunderland than Celtic. There are better quality strikers already at Celtic. I detect a hint of bitterness form Strachan. Stokes would be lucky to start 5 games for Celtic between now and the seasons end.
Always look on the bright side of life
Why would he remember he's topscorer of the SPL, why on earth would he be used a fringe player!Originally Posted by drummerboy
Riordan was one of the top scorers last season and waited 4 months for a start and then he was played on the left side of midfield. Van Hassesslink of wherever is a current Dutch international and just back from injury, Miller is current Scotland international and Zur**** a current Polish international. I think stokes will probably eventually surpass all these but he will take time to develop. If he wanted to play reserve team football, he would be better off doing it at Arsenal.
Always look on the bright side of life
WHO?
how can you say that and the young fella top of the scoring charts this season in scotland with no celtic player within an arsesroar of him.
in fact celtic's problem this season has been their strikers:
jan veenagor of hessilink: injured more often than not
maloney: off colour compared with last year
miller: great work rate but hardly prolific
zurwaski: good finisher but serious lack of pace
beattie: not gettin a game
riordan: not gettin a game
honestly cant see any of the above gettin in much ahead of stokes if the reports are to be believed. prefered strike force would be hessilink & stokes or miller & stokes, depending on the opposition.
it really does bode badly for stokes (or his advisors(!)) if he was putting the financial package ahead of the development / long term prospects of the player. this is the kind of sh1t that agents in shinny suits used to do in order to make a quick few quid. shocking - sack your oul fella anthony before he scuppers your career before it starts!!!!!
considering sunderland lost 5 out of the first 6 when he took over keane aint doin that bad, i guarantee they will make playoffs, the amount of chances they waste is sinful, stokes will be link, that will get them to playoffs
No it's 100% true.
Pure unadulterratted deluded sh*te. Maybe in Scotland they get more exposure, nowhere else. Does Kenny Miller get more exposure than Darren Bent? Is he a better player?
I also like the nonsense you write about Sunderland players not even getting into the Celtic squad. This shows you haven't a clue when one of their main strikers is Kenny Miller who has a Championship scoring record worse than Connolly. Liam Miller anyone?
Anyway your above arguments are all nonsense anyway. The only thing that's important is the quality of the football he'll be playing week in week out and at Celtic that's not anywhere near Premiership (or even Championship) level most weeks - the old firm games being the exception. If he's any use he needs to play at a decent level and not f**k about against laughable opposition. He could easily be playing in the Premiership next season and until then he has a chance to develop his skills in the competitive Championship .
Last edited by youngirish; 08/01/2007 at 11:50 AM.
kenny miller's strength is most definately not his scoring ability - he is more hustle and bustle, run the channels, closing down the defenders and holding up the ball. he creates more than converts. connolly is an out and out goal scorer who has 'found his level' in the championship and he offers very little else apart for his goals. in fairness there are very few strikers who have a better scoring record in the championship.
liam miller was in his first season breaking into the celtic squad when he decided to move to manchester united when contract expired at end of season. he was strongly advised by many to stay for at least one more season for his own development but decided to go. money again appears to have been a factor. played reserve, struggled to make an impact and is now one of the nearly men, another IMO who has found his level in the championship. similar to stephen mcphail.
HOWEVER, i believe that stokes had 2 choices - celtic or sunderland. charlton are a dead duck going south! the pressure there is not what a young fella needs. i know there is pressure everywhere in football but at charlton every game is a must win and after every failure the morale of the squad would drop another notch. at both sunderland & celtic the mood is much more optamistic and both clubs are in the acendancy.
Miller got 19 league goals in 04/05, the exact same amount as Bent. 1 more than Doyle got last season. He got 20 goals in his previous season in Division 1. Last season he was mostly playing in midfield (sometimes even full back) at Wolves and got player of the year even though he signed a contract with Celtic in January. This season he has more goals in the Champions league then he has in domestic competitions. You picked the wrong player if you're trying to play down the SPL...
What about him? A player that signed for Man Utd after about 15 starts and excellent Champions League performances?
I'm obviously biased towards Celtic but I think it'd be better for Ireland to have a striker playing first team football for Celtic than in the lower end of the premiership.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 08/01/2007 at 12:21 PM.
Well on that point I'd have to disagree but your welcome to your opinion. I'd much rather have a 15 goal a season striker playing for Watford in the Premiership than a 20+ goal a season Celtic striker (and so would most managers). Most of the defences he's scoring those goals against are no matter what you like to believe of a far higher quality than probably any in the SPL (Possibly Celtic are the one exception but he's not scoring against his own players). Top players should be playing at the top level to constantly test themselves. How many world class players have played in the SPL in the last 10 years? I could only list Larrson. This should say it all.
Last edited by youngirish; 08/01/2007 at 12:40 PM.
You also have to remember that when teams play Celtic in the SPL, they usually pack the defence and play a containing game. When Stokes played with Falkirk, he had a hell of a lot more space that he would get if he was laying for Celtic. I don't agree with the conclusion that Stokes would have to start before the list of strikers already at Celtic, in fact I think it would highly unlikely that Strachan would start an 18 year old rookie before them.
Always look on the bright side of life
its a moot point but although stokes is only 18 it is unfair to call him an '18 year old rookie' when he scored 16 goals in 18 games for falkirk and is current top scorer in the SPL! i see no reason why he wouldn't be given the opportunity to start at celtic should he have chosen to play there. after that it would be up to the lad to establish himself - the old saying if your good enough your old enough!
i hate comparing players to others but rooney and michael owen were regulars with both their clubs and country by the age of 18.
Stokes' father:
"Money wasn't the key reason. He would have been
prepared to take a drop in money to sign for Celtic.
"But there are two reasons why he went to Sunderland. They made Anthony feel really
welcome and made him realise how big a club they are.
"Secondly, the manager's determination to get him was crucial. Roy was a big hero of
Anthony's.
"We used to go over to Old Trafford to watch him play - and there is a photo in the house
of Anthony as a nine-year-old with Roy.
"It's funny - because it shows Anthony with a black eye from a schoolboy game - standing beside Roy with a look of childish wonder.
Now he's his manager.
"And while it wasn't an easy decision for Anthony to make - far from it in fact - we
just had a good feeling about it because of how Sunderland made us feel.
"Celtic's offer was good. So too was Charlton's. But we feel at home here and that's important.
"The move certainly wasn't about money. And it's not fair on the young kid to
pin that accusation on him.
"As I said, he would have taken a drop to sign for Celtic but there is a limit to
his loyalty to them. The drop would have had to have been within reason."
Signed for Sunderland on a 3 and half year deal. £2m is the reported fee.
Regardless of who he has signed for and for whatever reasons he has signed for them should all be put behind and let him get on with what he does best.
He's one of our brightest prospects and we should all get behind him and wish him the best of luck in his career from here on in.
I have a head only Snow White would love
Sunderland have won the race to sign Arsenal's highly-rated striker Anthony Stokes.
Black Cats boss Roy Keane has beaten off competition from a number of top clubs to sign the Irishman in a £2m deal.
Stokes has completed a three-and-a-half-year contract at the Stadium of Light and becomes Sunderland's fourth signing since the January transfer window opened.
The striker told safc.com: "It's brilliant to be here. It has been a hectic few days, sorting things out, and now I'm looking forward to training and playing.
"I spoke to Roy Keane about everything, he told me his hopes for the club and it helped make up my mind. I'm excited about the move to Sunderland."
Stokes raced to the top of the scoring charts in Scotland during a sensational three-month loan spell at Falkirk earlier this season, attracting a host of scouts.
He became the first player to fire back-to-back hat-tricks in the SPL, netting three against Dundee United and Dunfermline.
stokes290 New signing ... Anthony Stokes at Sunderland's training ground after signing today
Stokes scored 16 goals in 18 games for Falkirk before his loan spell came to an end on January 2.
"I'm delighted that Anthony has decided to join us," Sunderland boss Roy Keane told safc.com.
"We've beaten off competition from a number of high-profle clubs for someone who is a good, young player who can hopefully help us in our push for promotion."
Stokes made his first-team debut for Arsenal as a substitute against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the Carling Cup last season, replacing Arturo Lupoli in the 88th minute.
His impressive performances north of the Border earned him the SPL Young playe
In Trap we trust
Here here!
It's a done deal now so let the football do the talking
"The move certainly wasn't about money. ....... he would have taken a drop to sign for Celtic but there is a limit to
his loyalty to them. The drop would have had to have been within reason."
slight contradiction there!
anyway as i said earlier out of the 3 clubs 2 were good moves and 1 was bad IMO. glad he didn't go to charlton and here's wishing him a long and successful future.
although the move does reduce the chances overall of murphy, connolly and elliot gettin a game but perhaps they have had their chances without setting the world alight
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