Career
Stokes came up through the famous West Ham United academy along with Mark Noble and Kyel Reid. He made his first team debut and only appearance for West Ham at the age of 18 in September 2005 as a replacement for Tomáš Řepka in the League Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday. During the 2005-2006 season, Stokes was loaned to Conference National side Rushden & Diamonds, where he made 19 appearances.
He joined Football League One side Brighton & Hove Albion in a one-month loan deal in August 2006, which was extended for a second month but Stokes decided to return to West Ham after finding first-team opportunities at Brighton difficult.
He made seven appearances in all competitions for Brighton. Stokes joined Stevenage Borough on a two-month loan in November 2007.
He was named reserve team captain when Jack Collison was promoted to the first team for the 2008-2009 season. However, he found first team football hard to come by as Collison, Valon Behrami, Scott Parker and Mark Noble were the preferred starters and did not even make the bench on most occasions.
On 19 February 2009, Stokes joined Újpest Football Club on loan until the end of the 2008-2009 season.
He was released by West Ham on 3 June 2009, and signed for Újpest Football Club in July 2009 ahead of the 2009-2010 Hungarian NB1 season. Stokes requested that his two-year contract be terminated early and he returned to the United Kingdom in May 2010. In July 2010, Stokes signed for Isthmian League Premier Division side, Concord Rangers.
Stokes was a key part of Concord Rangers start in the Isthmian League Premier Division, contributing 20 goals from 41 league appearances in his first season, and was made captain for the 2012-2013 season.
In 2012, he gained promotion with Concord to the Conference South, scoring the winning goal in extra time in the play-off semi-final against Wealdstone.