Bill Finney

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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*
YearsTeamApps(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)
Total145(24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Contents

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]

ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City 1952–53 First Division 2141100225
1953–54 Second Division 2560000256
1954–55 Second Division1144000154
Total571451006215
Birmingham City 1955–56 First Division 100211 [a] 0131
1956–57 First Division40000040
Total1402110171
Queens Park Rangers 1957–58 Third Division South 1010000101
Crewe Alexandra 1958–59 Fourth Division 10000010
Rochdale 1958–59 Third Division 3133100344
Macclesfield Town 1959–60 [7] Cheshire League 2471072329
1960–61 [8] Cheshire League81000081
Total32810724010
Career total145241138216429
  1. Appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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.