Anthony Christopher Stokes (born 25 July 1988) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He began his senior career with Arsenal in the English Premier League, and established himself with a successful loan spell with Falkirk in 2006, scoring 14 goals in 16 Scottish Premier League games. He then signed for Sunderland in a £2 million deal, but struggled to hold down a place in the Sunderland first team. He moved back to Scottish football when Hibernian signed him for £500,000 in August 2009, and he scored over 20 goals in his only full season there. Stokes then moved to boyhood heroes Celtic for a fee of around £1.2 million. He played regularly for Celtic under the management of Neil Lennon and enjoyed success, but fell out of favour under Ronny Deila. In the latter part of the 2015–16 season, he was loaned to Hibernian, who he helped win the 2015–16 Scottish Cup.
After a season with Blackburn Rovers, Stokes joined Hibernian for a third time in 2017, but was released in 2018. He then had short spells with Greek club Apollon Smyrnis, Iranian clubs Tractor and Persepolis, and Turkish club Adana Demirspor, before returning to Scotland with Livingston in 2020. Stokes also represented the Republic of Ireland at under-21 level, and played in nine full internationals for the senior team between 2007 and 2014.
Born in Dublin, Stokes broke into the Arsenal reserve team at 15 years old. He made his first-team debut as a substitute in a League Cup tie against Sunderland on 25 October 2005, coming on for Arturo Lupoli in the 88th minute of a 3–0 win. He trained with Sunderland with a view to a loan move in July 2006, but Sunderland manager Niall Quinn decided against it due to Sunderland's large squad depth and lack of a reserve team.
Arsenal agreed a loan deal with Falkirk that saw Stokes play for the Scottish Premier League (SPL) side until the end of 2006. Stokes scored his first goal for Falkirk in a 1–0 victory at Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 19 September 2006 in the Scottish League Cup. He followed that up on 21 October with two more goals against Inverness. On 28 October, he scored his first competitive hat-trick during Falkirk's 5–1 victory over Dundee United. Stokes then scored another hat-trick in the following match against Dunfermline Athletic, which meant that he had scored nine goals in just four games. Having become the first player to score hat-tricks in successive SPL games, Stokes then hit a third in what proved to be his last game for Falkirk, a 3–1 home victory over Inverness CT on 30 December.
On 7 November, Stokes scored an equaliser for Falkirk in extra time in a League Cup match against Celtic; Falkirk advanced 5–4 on penalties. His continuing good form saw him named Young Player of the Month for October and November. By the end of his loan spell, Stokes had scored 16 goals in 18 league and cup appearances.
Stokes was transferred by Arsenal to Sunderland for £2 million in January 2007. Celtic and Charlton Athletic had also been interested in the player, but Stokes revealed that he was greatly influenced by Sunderland manager and former Irish international, Roy Keane, in making his ultimate decision. Stokes was originally handed the 26 shirt at Sunderland, but after the departure of Jon Stead to Sheffield United he was given the number 9 shirt. Stokes made his Sunderland debut a few days later, and crossed to set up David Connolly to give Sunderland a one-goal win over Ipswich. Stokes scored his first goal for Sunderland on 10 February 2007 against Plymouth Argyle, scoring from 20 yards after coming on as a substitute.
Stokes was barred from The Glass Spider nightclub in Sunderland, after Keane blamed it for distracting Stokes from his training. The nightclub owner offered to revoke the ban after the 2007–08 season and to give Stokes a complimentary bottle of champagne. Stokes then scored his first Premier League goal; a last-minute winner against Derby County that took Sunderland out of the relegation zone. Before the start of the 2008–09 season, Stokes lost the Sunderland number 9 shirt and was handed the squad number 44 instead. On 23 September 2008, Stokes scored two late goals to level a League Cup tie against Northampton Town.
On 17 October 2008, Stokes agreed a three-month loan deal to Sheffield United, with the possibility of extending it for the season. Stokes again took the shirt that was previously vacated by Jon Stead, this time number 8. Stokes made his debut for the Blades in the local derby against Sheffield Wednesday a few days later, coming on as a second-half substitute. Stokes started his time at Bramall Lane as a first team regular but was soon dropped to the bench and returned to Sunderland having made 12 appearances but failed to score a goal.
In March 2009, Stokes joined Crystal Palace on loan, scoring from a solo effort after his first start against Preston North End. This was his only goal for Palace, however, and he returned to Sunderland at the end of the loan spell.
Stokes joined Hibernian for an undisclosed fee, reported by the Evening Chronicle to be around £500,000, in August 2009. This meant that he linked up again with John Hughes, who had been his manager during his loan spell at Falkirk. Stokes made his Hibs debut against his former club Falkirk, and then credited Hughes as the main reason he decided to sign for Hibs. He scored his first goals for Hibs in a 3–0 win at home to St Johnstone on 19 September. At the same time, Stokes made newspaper headlines for a nightclub altercation, which prompted Hughes to discipline him and to say that he felt "let down" by Stokes. In December, however, Stokes scored five goals in three games, which helped to extend Hibs' unbeaten run in the SPL to 12 games. On 27 December 2009, Stokes scored the fastest goal in Scottish Premier League history, after just 12.4 seconds against Rangers. It broke the previous record of 17 seconds set by Saulius Mikoliūnas in a match between Hearts and St Mirren on 2 December 2006. Stokes' goal was the only highlight for Hibs, however, as they lost 4–1 to the league leaders. His good run of form was rewarded with the SPL young player of the month award for December 2009. Stokes continued to score on a prolific basis throughout the 2009–10 season, although Hughes expressed a desire to improve his all-round game. Stokes won the goal of the season award from the SPL for a goal against Rangers in November 2009.
At the start of the following season, Stokes acknowledged the need to improve other aspects of his play. He was then linked with a move to Celtic, with their manager Neil Lennon commenting that Stokes was "a player we like". The Scotsman reported that Hibs rejected an initial offer from Celtic, but Hibs then accepted a second offer a few days later.
On 31 August 2010, Stokes signed a four-year contract with Celtic. Stokes made his Celtic debut on 11 September 2010, in a 3–0 win against Hearts. He scored his first goal for the club in his second appearance on 19 September, the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock. Stokes scored a brace in a League Cup tie, against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in a 6–0 win, and another double in the quarter-final against St Johnstone in a 3–2 win. On 6 November, Stokes recorded his first hat-trick for Celtic in an SPL record 9–0 victory over Aberdeen. After scoring a hat-trick, Stokes says he dedicated the goal to Celtic legend Henrik Larsson. Another former Celtic striker, Chris Sutton, highlighted the successful link up play between Stokes and teammate Gary Hooper, stating: "Their link-up play is good and in that respect having both of these guys in the side is a huge positive for Celtic and it is encouraging."
After scoring a 90th-minute penalty in 1–1 draw at New Douglas Park with Hamilton on 12 January 2011, Stokes entered a rich vein of form, scoring another penalty and an over-the-shoulder volley in a 3–0 win at Easter Road against Hibernian three days later. He rounded the goalkeeper and scored the winner in a 1–0 home win against Aberdeen the following week. He scored from a free-kick and a tap-in from a good refereeing advantage in a 4–0 home thrashing of Hearts on 26 January and kept his cool from the spot and scored another penalty in a 4–1 win at Hampden Park in the semi-final of the League Cup against Aberdeen.