Stokes’ reward: Get out!

By: Lucas | December 5th, 2007

In the wake of his at-the-death game winner against Derby County last weekend, 19-year old Irish striker Anthony Stokes has been given a rather odd bit of thanks from some Sunderland fans: his favorite night club has 86′d him.

This isn’t a punishment for starting a barroom brawl, or anything like that. This is some loyal Mackems doing the best thing for their team.

Said Roy Keane after the Derby match: “Stokes could be a top, top player in four or five years or he could be playing non-League. He’ll go one way or the other, I’m sure. The obvious pitfall for him is the Glass Spider.

The Glass Spider is Stokes’ favorite dance club, and a really happening place for drinks and shenanigans in Sunderland; and in the wake of Keano’s comments, the owners of the place have banned Stokes for the remainder of the season, saying “…if Roy Keane thinks The Glass Spider is a distraction, then we have decided to bar Anthony until the football season ends so he can concentrate on his game.”

Gee, thanks. What next: dude scores a hat-trick and you send him to bed without supper?

But to get back to Keane’s comments, he went on:

“Stokes has got potential but it’s about producing and maintaining it. It’s important that his family look after him. As his manager, I’ve got a role to play but you can’t follow the modern player 24 hours a day. You never know what you are going to get from Stokes… Today he tried to take a shot from 45 yards out and I’m scratching my head and thinking ‘bloody hell’ but then he popped up with the winner.”

I like getting this kind of candid insight from a manager (and also quotes that include “bloody hell”). Was Keane speaking figuratively, that Sunderland AFC as Stokes’ “family” has to look after him? Or was he referring to the kid’s actual family?

John Stokes, Anthony’s father (also his agent) feels like the team isn’t doing a very good job “looking after” his son (who has had a spotty disciplinary record since coming to the club from Arsenal nearly a year ago), saying, “He is afraid to make a mistake because he feels as though he can’t get away with it. It’s very hard on a young lad like Anthony. He seems to get booed at every Sunderland game. He was booed against Derby when he was coming on and then of course he went on to score the winner. I was at a game against Birmingham last year and I had to leave because of the abuse he was getting. It’s not right.”

If young Stokes keeps playing hard, continues to score goals, and stays out of Keano’s doghouse, I should hope none of this will be a problem: he will find other ways to entertain himself until the season ends, and we won’t read anymore whiny complaints from Papa John.