Lotw Diary- Anthony Stokes

I had to laugh this week when i was sent an E-Mail concerning an article that appeared in The Guardian last week, which was an interview wie Anthony Stokes- that failed Celtic signing. Now, this passage- concerning the time he missed the Sunderland team bus- i thought summed up the modern day fitbawer...

"So Liam was telling me to look out for a KFC and 'get a bloody move on' and then - shit - I see it in my mirror. I couldn't get my satnav working properly and I'd taken the wrong turn-off ..."

No matter the money, looks- in the person who wrote the article eyes- and ability, the everyday things like timekeeping, satnavs and finding KFC's on motorways seem beyond them. Hell, a bet you some hire people to wipe their arses.

But it was his take on his proposed move to The Hoops that caught my eye....

"I went to Celtic, and also Charlton, and at both clubs they wanted me to sign there and then. They put a lot of unfair pressure on me. Celtic, in particular, knew I wanted to play for them but it wasn't fair the way they suddenly produced a contract, put it in front of me and expected me to make up my mind straight away."

Nothing up wie that, i mean as the article says Keane was his fav player and Man Who were his "team" and Celtic probably knew that he would jump at the chance to do a "Liam" and join the "Black Cats"

But then i googled Mr Stokes name and came up wie this article from the Independent on Sunday and a quote from his agent, who also doubles as his da'.....

"He loves Celtic and was prepared to accept less money to play for them. When he gets up in the morning he listens to Celtic songs and by the time he goes to bed at night he's watched Celtic videos." Yet there was only so much less money he was willing to accept. It is understood Celtic offered a deal worth " only" £8,000 a week. So Celtic lost out, as did Charlton, whom Stokes had decided to join (on £14,000 a week) before Keane, his hero, made a last-minute intervention."

So, i can assume from that, that the "unfair pressure" Celtic put him under was offering him less money, but a fair wage for a untried 18 year old who had just had one purple patch in his career and would have been playing for trophies and in Europe every season?

So, i can also assume that he has got his satnav working well enough to find his way to the Sunderland bench every week, while a bloke called Kenwyn plods around the park in place of him?

Forza