Anthony Stokes

average at best. Sums up our whole team to be fair

 

People need to stop kidding thereselves on about stokes, he's just never going to be a player of champions league standard, the fact he won a penatly really means nothing to the effect he has. If this had been hooper who had played the same a stokes in the last 3 games he'd be getting dogs abuse. The guys had his chance In the big games now and has overall really had a very small impact

 

When you play with one man up front, which we do in Europe, that man has to be able to score goals or at the very least get himself into the positions to score goals. Stokes movement off the ball is not that of a goalscorer and this really shows up at Champions League level. In Milan, and again last night, there were two or three beautiful balls put into the box and Stokes was nowhere near any of them. A striker with natural goalscoring instincts would have been on the end of at least one of them and probably would have scored at least once.

As I said last night, I don't blame Stokes himself. He's given 100% in every European game this year and that's as much as any supporter can ask for. The bottom line is he just doesn't have the quality for this level and it's the board that need to answer for that. They should have backed their manager and allowed him to bring in a striker who is capable of getting into the right positions and putting the ball in the back of the net at this level.

 

said all this at the start of the campaign. he does his best work outside the box and is not a striker. its as simple as that.

 

Spot on

 

Was all for giving the chance to shine as the lone striker- unfortunately it's not worked out.

 

Harsh, some of Stokes footwork and link-up play is great. He's just not the answer as a lone striker in Europe.

 

Yes, but people are mistaken this point for him being an average player.

If he was playing behind an inform number 9 goalscorer, then he'd be at his absolute best, not this almost pseudo number 9 role where he's clearly not a number 9 and doesn't play like one.

For some to say they're annoyed he got a new contract is absolutely ridiculous.... then again there has been some outrages knee * reactions in the past on here.

 

This x100. I actually like Stokes, he is one of the few that always looks like he's busting his gut and he's the one that usually wants to try something different (see Karagandy). BUT I don't think he's good enough for this level. Like half of our team to be fair, its as simple as that.

 

look lads he is at his level in the SPL,look at Hooper he will be back in scotland or the
championship in the next 2 seasons.

 

I agree with the majority of what you say, except we won't be able to truly say that Stokes isn't cut out for this level unless we actually try to play to his strengths.

He's not and never has been a lone striker - and there is absolutely NO point in trying to swap *-for-tat both he and Hooper's roles.

If he plays up front with a partner, I believe it's a different story for Stokes.

Will never happen though

 

The stokes/hooper partnership in Europe would've been an interesting one...could've been very promising

 

The partnership of Hooper and Stokes was one of the most entertaining and successful partnerships I've seen at Celtic in a long time.

I have NO idea why Lennon chose to break it up (imo began when we pumped Aberdeen 9-0, then dropped Stokes for the following game ).

Look at how well we played in Pukki's first two games of the season - wee Stokesy was in GREAT form.

 

See when you look at the quotes from Lennon a couple of weeks ago when stokes signed the new contract, it was quite evident that there were some personal problems between them up until this year....it's sad really cause them two together were something special

To all the haters on here, remember it was his bit of magic that got us through

 

Stokes and Hooper would have been a naïve partnership at this level and our team would have been tactically overrun if starting two such players together in the Champions League group stage. Celtic fans constantly go on about their partnership in Lennon's first season - among the generalities of Lennon's first season being fantastic - which was at times great, but that was a season we lost the league and were knocked out of Europe 4-0 to Utrecht in August.

Some just can't accept Stokes isn't good enough for Champions League level football; not up front, not in the 'hole', not out wide, nowhere. Some say 'What's he done wrong?' Well not much, that's the point. Being fouled in the penalty box and hitting a free kick off the top of the bar does not justify his presence at this level. What would it take, Stokes being sent off? Stokes scoring an own goal? What will it take for Stokes' record of 2 goals in 15 European appearances, the 2 being a brace at home to a mid table French team in a Europa League group we failed to qualify from, to resonate in the minds of his fan boys?

Stokes is 'technically great' and an asset in Scottish domestic football. Nothing more and nothing less. I'm glad he signed an extension to his contract, but that's purely because the alternatives are arguably worse. Our club should have far better forwards than Anthony Stokes as first team regulars, especially with the tens of millions generated, and that's the truth.

 

It would take Stokes playing badly.

 

Stokes doesn't score as many as he should imo

 

How exactly would it have been a "naive" partnership? The fact that you've referenced a 4-0 defeat by Utrecht is of no relevance - the team that played that night were all newly formed by Lennon. Are you saying that had the partnership between Hooper and Stokes remained, they would not have grown is stature, stability and experience as the rest of the team under Neil Lennon?

And, "fanboys"?

 

Is that your level of ambition for Celtic Football Club's forwards, being 'not bad'? i.e. having 20 touches in a game, taking one shot straight at the keeper and winning the odd corner out wide. Is that good enough for you devlin? Do you think 2 goals in 15 European appearances is impressive? Do you think Anthony Stokes belongs in the Champions League? Do you find it acceptable that we didn't replace Gary Hooper?

 

Celtic, and Gary Hooper included, didn't miss Anthony Stokes one iota when we qualified for the Last 16 of the Champions League against all the odds with a record 10 points last season. You have absolutely no evidence to back up that Stokes ability and track record justifies being Celtic's main striker in the Champions League.