Bill Finney
English footballer (born 1931)
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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]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles William Thomas Finney[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 September 1931[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England[1] | ||
| Position | 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 | |||
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 | ||
- Appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup