Anthony Stokes

I genuinely feel he was * at Falkirk. Despite scoring twice.

Stokesys all round game is more important than his goals for me, which sounds nuts but his link up play and how he provides other players is why he is the top man when he's on his game for me.

 

The last two games have been extremely difficult away games ( At least on paper) and Lenny has quite rightly opted for a mobile diamond shape attack of 4-3-3, results have proved him correct on both calls. A ten man St Johnstone got the better of Hearts with two wingers, and Lenny would have noted that on his spying mission, so having Forrest and Samaras on the wings stretched the Inverness and Heart's teams, with a solid three in the middle of Brown, Wanyama, Ledley ( No Ki there for these type of games either ). No conspiracy here, just team tactics to suit the opposition, we all criticized Lenny for last year's team selection at ICT, but he has learned from his mistakes which is important. Also when Brown is in a solid three man midfield like he was with Hibernian ( K.Thomson & Beuzeulin) he thrived, and he was a surging attacking midfielder who could score goals, like he is doing again with us, goals from midfield win you championships and Cups).
Stokesy will play in the games that suit his style.

 

I hope for him he gets the nod for the cup final. Deserves it, and after last year's disappointment he should be right fired up for it.

 

Anthony Stokes , Chat.

Update Feb 19:

Out of the last ten games where Celtic have scored three or more goals, Stokes has started nine of them.

I'll flesh that out a bit. In a number of those games Sammy has also started - nearly always playing the wider, deeper role he has made his own. In a number of them Hoops has also started.

But the common factor in our high-scoring performances seems to be Stokesey.

Discuss.

 

I think we should employ a sqaud rotation policy with our strikers stokes is the better player when we should be controlling the ball on the ground at home and sammy offers more on narrow and congested away pitches in the spl where we can play the ball up to him if everything else is failing. This also obviously depends on form because if a player is playing really well you don't want to take him out of the team.

 

Agree with that but strangely Stokesy seems mostly to score away.

All 3 are huge in the run-up.

 

A get your point mate but it comes down to the opponents were playing, a personally would never play sammy up front coz he,s proved he,s not a goal scorer, he gives us the long ball option but, and he offers us that n the left as well, a think we need another striker....

Am not a massive stokes fan a think he,s slow but his link up play is good with hoops, but he,s forever offside which is frustrating and his work rate isnt the greatest, a would love it if lenny found a great striker to play with hooper..... someone who can hold the ball up.... who has pace and who knows were the net is

 

Sammy should be played on the left. Hoops and Stokes should be played up front, simples.

 

Hopefully Brozek can do that in the short term. I pray that Rhodes can do it in the long term

 

I saw that stat aswell and I honestly can't wrap my head around it, seems like Stokes would do better when we are passing the ball along the deck at home than when we are hoofing it up the park at tight away grounds.

 

stokes has done brilliantly so far this season so for right now he'll do for me

 

Not suprised by his stats tbh, scores 2 goals that sends us into the cup final then gets dropped for the following 3 games. sammy and hooper just dont have the same chemistry.

 

Neil doesn't like playing Samaras and Stokes together.

Stokes doesn't play, then.

The Irishman departs Celtic.

 

brozek is a short term loan and a doubt we will see much of him..... a dont think he will play 5 games between now and the end of the season.... a dont think he,s good enough..... a watched his videos and he looked okay and when he came on the other night he did ok but imo he is not the answer

 

That's what I feel too.

But the reason Stokesey has been sidelined is that Broon has come back from injury and had to be included. And with Sammy, James Forrest and Vic having made themselves pretty much undroppable, Lenny has had to resort to a 5-man midfield to accommodate Broony. Hence no Stokesey.

Thing is, Broony has been playing well. But as someone pointed out on another thread, we've won our last six home games by a single goal. The swashbuckling performances of earlier seem to be thinner on the ground...

 

Am not saying he,s a bad player but he,s no were near hooper,s level

 

The answer to me is to revert back to 4-4-2 and use Forrest as a sub in the second half.I would have played Stokes today with Forrest on the bench not the other way around. I can see why Lenny didn't play Stokes against ICT away in the Cup, but I could see no reason for not playing Stokes against Hearts away and ICT at home. Still we have won all of those games despite Stokes.My caveat is Stokes will score goals in any game which wins you matches.

Bench Forrest and bring Stokes back.

 

No way forrest is our best player at the minute and nearly everything comes from him down that right, there is no way a would be dropping forrest, he,s been 1 of our best players this season... his only fglaws is tracking back/defending.


A dont know were stokes will fit into this team... am not complaining, were winning and thats all that matters to me so lenny might not change it and he would be right not to.... why change a winning team???

 

You decided he's not the answer in 15 mins the other night in which he touched the ball about 6 times? Get a grip. Fans like you get on my * nerves.

 

I don't think there's any doubt about that whatsoever mate... I'd have stokes ahead of hooper.

There has to be something going on between lennon and stokes because through out his time here no matter how well he's playing stokes has been consistently left out of the team.

The team lacks that touch of skill or that touch of genius when stokes isn't up front... The obvious thing to me seems like

Forrest............Brown..........Wanyama.........Samaras

...................Hooper..................Stokes.......

But lennon dosen't seem to want to leave the likes of ledley or brown out, so he plays one of them on the wing witch completely unbalances the team in games....