Stokes, Anthony

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Personal

Fullname: Anthony Stokes
aka: Tony Stokes
Born: 25 July 1988
Birthplace: Dublin
Signed: 31 August 2010 (from Hibernian £800k)
Left: 8 June 2016 (free); 18 June 2016 (Blackburn Rovers)
Position: Inside-Forward, Striker
Debut: Celtic 3-0 Hearts 11th September 2010
Squad No.: 10
Internationals: Ireland
International Caps: 9
International Goals: 0

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Biog

“Anthony could be a top player or he could be playing non-League in five years!” Roy Keane on Tony Stokes in his spell at Sunderland (pre-Celtic)

Dublin-born Anthony Stokes became Celtic’s final signing of the 2010 summer transfer window when he agreed a reported £800,000 switch from Hibernian. He was not going to let go of this chance after squandering his first opportunity to come to Celtic.

The deadline day deal was the Bhoys’ eleventh signing of a busy summer as Celtic manager Neil Lennon set about rebuilding his side.

Pre-Celtic

A Republic of Ireland international, Stokes began his professional career at Arsenal but made his name while at loan with Falkirk in the SPL. At the outset he was lauded for his talents, with a former leading Irish football coach (John Bolger) rating him as “the most talented teenager to come out of this country [Ireland]”, and that was quite an accolade when one of his peers included Robbie Keane.

The striker hit 14 goals in 16 games for the Bairns during the first few months of the 2006-7 season. That scintillating form caught the eye of several clubs and in January 2007 the player was the centre of much transfer speculation and after keen interest from Celtic and Charlton Athletic he eventually opted to join Sunderland, then in the English Championship. It was a daft move and prompted Celtic Manager Gordon Strachan to say: “If people don’t want to come here, win titles and play with good players at the highest level in Europe in front of 60,000 fans with a chance of becoming a legendary figure that’s fine by me, If you can get that elsewhere, then fair enough.” It became quite an apt quote for Stokes in time.

Ex-Celt Roy Keane, the Black Cats manager, paid Arsenal a £2 million fee for the player and although the Wearsiders made it into the Premiership, Stokes ultimately failed to impress. Roy Keane railed: “Anthony could be a top player or he could be playing non-League in five years!”. In 2008-09 loan spells at Sheffield United and Crystal Palace were also uninspiring while off the field disciplinary problems made Stokes’ departure from the Stadium of Light increasingly inevitable.

In August 2009 the Dubliner returned to Scotland when his former Falkirk boss John Hughes – now at charge at Hibernian – paid a reported £500,000 for his services. Back in the SPL Stokes once more had no problem hitting the goal trail and by the end of the 2009-10 campaign he had hit 22 goals for the Edinburgh club.

Celtic Career first few seasons…
With Celtic eager to recruit a predatory goal-scorer they turned their attention to the Hibs man in August 2010 and managed to complete a deal on the final day of the transfer window. Stokes made his Celtic debut on September 11 as the Hoops defeated Hearts 3–0 at Parkhead. The Dubliner scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance when he grabbed the winner in a 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock.

Playing alongside fellow new Bhoy Gary Hooper Stokes began to hit a run of scoring form including a hat-trick in a 9–0 victory over Aberdeen. But as 2010 came to the end Celtic and the Irish international suffered a slump in form. Stokes would find himself on the bench for the vital New Year game at Rangers. Despite this, the partnership between Stokes and Hooper quickly began to blossom, mainly due to the superb link up play and awareness between the two and thus by mid February 2011 had become the mainstay in the first team (pushing back Samaras).

Stokes much to his credit in this game and others is a grafter and worked his socks off. His goal tallies over the seasons have been testament to this and Hooper would likely pass credit to his striking partner for his role in his own success. Stokes will eke out those goals that will win us points that matter at the end of the season.

For season 2010/11 & 2011/12, he more than proved his worth scoring 20 & 21 goals respectively. In particular, Neil Lennon more than most owes a debt. If it were not for Stokes double that brought us the draw against Kilmarnock away in the first half of 2011/2012 when Cetic were three down at half time, then it would have been curtains for Lennon. At point, Celtic were incredibly languishing behind Rangers early in the league, and a defeat would have been the end for the manager.

It can’t be taken lightly for what Stokes did in this game in retrospect. Following the success of Lennon in the next eighteen months (both in Europe and domestically), his two goals were to be worth more than just the three points. They are invaluable, and rarely have they been as pivotal to one man (for Lennon) than any other for such a general league match. Literally saved his job. Seeing Lennon achieve so much and be there when the Huns liquidated was just perfect, yet it would not have happened without Stokes part in the comeback of that Kilmarnock match. For that at least, Stokes will be remembered very fondly.

Stokes goals helped push Celtic to the title in 2011/12, and it brought him the title medal he deserved in his career.

However, Tony Stokes had been unfortunate. Overshadowed by the free scoring Hooper, many have undervalued his quality and worth to the first team. The generally less effective Samaras was given more leeway (unfairly in the eyes of sympathisers) and the manager preferred to play Samaras in crunch games ahead of Stokes. Notably, in practically all games v Rangers (Oldco), Stokes was placed on the bench despite calls that he should be in the starting eleven.

Sadly, he was an easy target for the Hun bigots due to his Irish background. Yobs attacked his home and targeted him and there were a spate of similar abuse against him over his time at Celtic. Clear examples of intimidation were via twitter where supposed anonymity from Huns gave them a platform to threaten Stokes. Nobody deserves that. Can’t be condoned. Despite the harassment he would not let them get to him, and likely it contributed to his growing love for Celtic. He celebrated each goal as if it were a cup winner. The fans definitely took to him and those moments.

In truth, there were plenty who have not been convinced by Stokes but the final statistics show his worth is greater than critics would have you believe. The ends justify the means with what he brings to the side even though it will never be as flamboyant as that of some of his colleagues. He will reward on the pitch anyone who puts any trust in him and that is as great a compliment as you can say about him. Some crudely said he was only of value for the SPL, and admitting that he was very good in the SPL but his double in the match against Rennes in the UEFA Cup indicates he could be more than that.

Mirroring the sometimes indifferent attitude to Stokes at Celtic from the management it could be the same at international level. He was overlooked for the Irish national side for the European Championships in 2012 where Ireland succumbed to the strength of their group (playing eventual finalists Italy & Spain) winning no matches, no points, just one goal and conceding nine. It would be a bit of a stretch to claim that Stokes would have turned it around it for them, but taking in their incompetence in the tournament, surely Stokes would have been a positive addition and would have done better than many who were taken along. His work-effort alone could have rubbed off on the others.

Off-field Events
One irksome aspect about Stokes is that he wasn’t particularly very diligent off the field. Due to the partisan and goldfish bowl nature of the domestic press and the historical legacy of Irish social & political issues, to err on the side of caution is very heavily recommended. He ended up creating a stooshie in December 2012 after attending the funeral and wake of an old friend in Dublin, who the press (UK and Ireland) tagged as being a leader of splinter group ‘the Real IRA’ and a major gangster etc etc, allegedly responsible for the murder of two people.

The whole details of all this is outwith of the scope of this site, and can be analysed in more appropriate forums, however if Stokes wished to pay his respects many would have preferred a more discreet tribute. The club was forced to comment and there were Celtic supporters in Dublin with less than respectful comments on Stokes, let alone the opinion outwith of the club. It could unfairly reflect negatively on the club when there was no involvement whatsoever excluding Stokes.

In fairness to Stokes, it was difficult as maybe he only knew him as a friend and paid his respects to the dead man’s family. He knew the deceased via his own family’s pub, and Stokes’ dad was already a cause celebre with some in Dublin after his anti-monarch banners in the previous year made headlines, making it clear where his allegiances lay. Stokes though should have been more careful, and it gave the press a field day on the issue. Lennon even publicly had to state that Stokes had been disciplined over the matter to provide closure. It was all an unwelcome headache for the club. The support was moving on with the events in regard to the N Irish situation. This was an unwelcome situation, although in truth it wasn’t an issue for much of our support no matter how much the press stoked it all up.

For all the criticism that Stokes has been given of what his true level actually is, he did play an important part to get us to the top table. In a vital match in Aug 2013, Celtic were 2-0 down from the first leg v Shakter Kuragandy. Celtic fought back, and in the final minutes, Stokes grabbed the ball and with some exceptional sublime skill, dribbled the ball into the box and around a few players before selflessly playing a clever pass to Forrest in the box who buried the ball and sent us through.

It clearly highlighted the talent in him, and he was the creator of a moment that had now immeasurably paid the club back. In the past, he would generally not play in vital games, he did here and repaid the faith in him. He actually helped play a part in the second goal too. It’s usually the scorers who are remembered, but in this this case the man who set up the assists should also get some credit.

Stokes had hunger. He looked to get on the ball, he almost always pushed for a pass and whilst he was frequently selfish, it’s largely because he made up his mind about what he was going to do. Single-minded determination is what had carried him throughout his career, and a good striker usually has a selfish streak.

Celtic Career final two seasons
The 2013/14 season should have been a turning point for him, as Celtic had just lost Hooper and so the gap provided the opportunity for Stokes to stake his claim. His return was good but didn’t show any real progress, and it compounded problems at the club as all the strikers were misfiring (relying on Commons to bail them out). In the past, the first team seemed to be able to fall back on Stokes for goals in the domestic set-up. That now seemed to not be the case, and in Europe he failed to score in eleven games.

A great performance that brought him plaudits was his hat trick against St Johnstone in February 2014, a pick me up needed after the club was knocked out the cup the past weekend. This performance saw the best of him, but was it enough? In retrospect it wasn’t. He was scoring goals, just wasn’t in the same sphere as Hooper. Most of his goals were in the last third of the season, by which time the league was already wrapped up.

Some blamed the team system rather than Stokes, but that was disingenuous. He had to fit into the side, and he wasn’t so blessed a talent that the rest should have fitted around him.

Season 2014-15 was obviously signalling the end of his Celtic time. New manager Deila didn’t seem convinced, and with Griffith’s star rising, Stokes was again back in the queue. His goal ratio to games was comparatively poor and a fresh start was needed. Both Deila and his team were emphasising work rate off the pitch in training as much as on the pitch in matches, and Stokes probably away from matches wasn’t a model pupil for the new regime, not that he was by far the worst offender either. One newspaper report claimed that a man had approached Stokes to use his family connections to obtain guns for them (never substantiated), and press like that doesn’t help anyone’s case.

Didn’t help his case when he appeared in Court charged with assaulting an Elvis impersonator in Dublin on a night out. More frustrating was to come. Celtic were to play Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup Round of 32, a big night and emotional for some (taking in Lisbon 1967), plus a big test for Ronny Deila. Stokes ended up arriving late from Dublin and was duly fined and dumped from the squad. An incredible night saw Celtic draw 3-3, and nobody was concerned that Stokes was absent. For such a major game he should have been prepared and back in Glasgow well in advance, it didn’t appear to show he had his priorities right. As Deila was to say: “This is a night that is going to teach me about my players!“, so what did that say about Stokes? Probably a dig at him that was maybe best left behind closed doors by the manager.

After being much unused in the first half of season 2015-16, even childishly tweeting his frustration at being taken up north for a game at Inverness CT on the bench, he was sent to Hibs on loan (then in the second tier). The challenge was for Hibs to beat Sevco to the league title, it wasn’t to be and Stokes scoring record in the league was poor. It didn’t end there, and Stokes experienced one of the great highs of his career by helping Hibs beat Sevco in the Scottish Cup final 3-2 with a superb double, their first Scottish Cup triumph for over 100 years.

On return to Celtic he was freed for his own benefit. No real surprise but at just 27 years of age for many strikers it should be the prime of their career.

Reflection on Tony Stokes:
In reflection on his career, he never reached the heights that many had forecast for him. He had done well at Celtic and despite not being a flash player, his work-rate and commitment meant he was widely appreciated. Other players were better talents but Stokes still outlasted many of them including a plethora of misguided and overvalued foreign talents e.g. Miku, Pukki, Brozek etc.

One major problem was that he was being left behind as tactics were evolving. He was becoming a square peg in a round hole, best as a second striker in a pair in an environment where that role was being phased out in the modern game, and was seen as a false luxury. His poor record in European matches reflected his greatest value was for the domestic set-up.

There were generally better players who would be ahead in the queue, but what Stokes lacked in some quarters he made up for in others, and in retrospect he probably deserved more opportunities in a number of higher profile games than he was given the chance. Too often side-lined for various games against Rangers (OldCo) and European competition, yet still called upon in many other matches to perform, and that he often did.

The sad irony for Tony Stokes was that he was leaving Celtic on a free when even inferior fellow ex-Celt Daryl Murphy had once been touted within the second tier in England for around £4-5m in 2015. Murphy had been overshadowed by Stokes for a main place at Celtic (which Murphy himself conceded in a retrospective comment), but he had finally managed a very productive season at Ipswich and gained a number of caps in an admittedly poor Rep of Ireland national team (albeit reached last 16 of Euros 2016). Neither were really reaching any heights, and Murphy despite the price-tag was still no great striker (over 20 international caps and no goals), his price more a reflection of the irrational marketplace in England rather than anything qualitative.

The question is whether Stokes would rather have been in Murphy’s shoes? Was he likely bothered? Probably not, as despite the often second string role he occupied, he still garnered an experience and life that many others can only dream about by being at Celtic. It’s not just the money or transfer tag, but what you achieve as he was to learn comparing his failed time down south to that in Scotland. He has much to take pride in from his time at Celtic, and was clearly a Celtic supporter.

Tony Stokes had scored a number of important goals in his time at Celtic, and his pivotal performance in that 3-3 match v Kilmarnock to save Lennon’s position as manager will be what he will be remembered for best, without which the support would have missed out on some great Celtic memories under Neil Lennon.

Many years later the curious point is that 3-3 draw with Kilmarnock was to be seen by some as having greater significance, and seen as a turning point that sparked life back into Celtic. It was the true start to the challenge for the record equalling nine league titles in a row. Tony Stokes was an unlikely spark and originator to this and must be given a good note for his part in this achievement.

After Celtic, he shuttled between a number of clubs but never seeming to settle down, including at Blackburn Rovers, back at Hibernian and then onto Greece.

The biggest surprise was when he moved to the conservative nation of Iran which seemed quite diametrically opposed to someone like Tony Stokes. Nevertheless he had a spell there and then onto Turkey with Adana Demirspor, but then back to Iran.

In 2019, he was sacked by his club in Iran, reported to FIFA and urged to pay back his wages. Back in the UK, he appeared in court charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend and breaching a court order, after spending three nights in custody following his arrest by armed police after he had just stepped off a plane on Friday.

In 2020, he returned to Scotland signed up for Livingston, but lasted only three weeks and made no appearances, with Livingston claiming it was as Stokes couldn’t adapt to training on their infamous Astro Turf pitch.

Now his career in the senior game was all over, the on-field adventures done, but a lot to look back on and reminisce about. A lot of good memories, downturns, experiences and dramas along the way.

However, his life off the field remained quite dramatic, the details of which will be left off this site.

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Scottish Premier League

• 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15

• 2011, 2013

Scottish League Cup

• 2014-15

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KDS

• Joins Celtic (Aug 2010)
• Leaving Celtic: http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9224081/