Bill Finney

Bill Finney
Personal information
Full name Charles William Thomas Finney[1]
Date of birth (1931-09-05) 5 September 1931 (age 93)[1]
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947–1949 Crewe Alexandra 0 (0)
1949–1955 Stoke City 57 (14)
1955–1957 Birmingham City 14 (0)
1957–1958 Queens Park Rangers 10 (1)
1958 Crewe Alexandra 1 (0)
1958–1959 Rochdale 31 (1)
1959–1961 Macclesfield Town 32 (8)
Total 145 (24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Charles William Thomas Finney (born 5 September 1931) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Birmingham City, Crewe Alexandra, Queens Park Rangers, Rochdale and Stoke City.[1][2]

Career

Finney was born in Stoke-on-Trent and began his career with Crewe Alexandra as an amateur before turning professional with Stoke City as an 18-year-old in 1949.[1] He spent the first three seasons with Stoke in the reserves making his debut away at Manchester United on 11 October 1952, Finney scoring in a 2–0 victory.[1] He scored twice in his next two matches in defeats against Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers as Stoke went on a poor run of form which led them to being relegated to the Second Division.[1] He scored six goals in 25 appearances during 1953–54 and was used sparingly by manager Frank Taylor in 1954–55 as Stoke narrowly missed out on promotion.[1] Finney signed for Second Division champions Birmingham City, for whom he played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[3][4] After failing to fully establish himself at St Andrew's Finney had short spells with Queens Park Rangers, Crewe Alexandra and finished his professional career at Rochdale.[1] He later played for non-league Macclesfield Town where he scored eight goals in 32 games.[5]

Career statistics

Source:[6]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1952–53 First Division 21 4 1 1 0 0 22 5
1953–54 Second Division 25 6 0 0 0 0 25 6
1954–55 Second Division 11 4 4 0 0 0 15 4
Total 57 14 5 1 0 0 62 15
Birmingham City 1955–56 First Division 10 0 2 1 1[a] 0 13 1
1956–57 First Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total 14 0 2 1 1 0 17 1
Queens Park Rangers 1957–58 Third Division South 10 1 0 0 0 0 10 1
Crewe Alexandra 1958–59 Fourth Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Rochdale 1958–59 Third Division 31 3 3 1 0 0 34 4
Macclesfield Town 1959–60[7] Cheshire League 24 7 1 0 7 2 32 9
1960–61[8] Cheshire League 8 1 0 0 0 0 8 1
Total 32 8 1 0 7 2 40 10
Career total 145 24 11 3 8 2 164 29
  1. ^ Appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ "Bill Finney". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  3. ^ Matthews, p. 241.
  4. ^ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  5. ^ "Player Profile – F". Silkmen Archives. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  6. ^ Bill Finney at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  7. ^ "Cheshire League – 1959–60". Silkmen Archive.
  8. ^ "Cheshire League – 1960–61". Silkmen Archive.
  • Bill Finney at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database