Stuart John Findlay (born 14 September 1995) is a Scottish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...
. He has previously represented the
Scotland national team at senior level.
Club career
Celtic
Findlay came through the
youth system
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...
at
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
, making his first-team debut in a friendly against
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
.
He also captained Celtic at under-17 level, and featured regularly for the Development side, taking part in the
UEFA Youth League
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...
and the
English Premier League International Cup.
Greenock Morton (loan)
In January 2014, Findlay signed for
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...
on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 1 February in a 1–1 draw against league leaders
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
, turning in an impressive performance. Morton spent most of the season in an unsuccessful struggle against relegation, but Findlay continued to show promise. Morton lost 2–1 away at
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leag ...
on 15 March, but Findlay's pace and positional sense restricted Raith's goalscoring chances, and his overall performance was described as showing "composure beyond his years". His spell at Morton ended on an embarrassing note, however, his side losing 10–2 against
Hamilton Accies
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...
in their last game of the season, including a Findlay
own goal
An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
.
Dumbarton (loan)
On 16 January 2015, Findlay joined
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...
club
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
on loan until the end of the
2014–15 season. He impressed immediately, and was named the club's player of the month for February.
He was noted for his composure with the ball, often carrying the ball out of defence with ease.
Findlay himself pointed out that "coming through at Celtic it is in their philosophy that they want to play out from the back, they want their defenders to be good on the ball."
His form also saw him named in the
Scotland under-21 squad for a friendly with
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in March.
He left the club at the end of his loan deal, having made 15 appearances and twice been the recipient of the player of the month award.
Kilmarnock (loan)
On 9 July 2015, it was confirmed that Findlay was going out on loan to
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
for the
2015–16 season.
On 1 August 2015, Findlay made his Kilmarnock debut in a 4–0 defeat against
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, in which he featured for the entire 90 minutes.
Newcastle United
Findlay joined
Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
side
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
on 8 July 2016, following his release from Celtic. He made his debut for Newcastle in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
tie against
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
on 18 January 2017.
Kilmarnock
In August 2017, Findlay returned to
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
on loan from Newcastle. He made 36 appearances for the club during the
2017–18 season, then signed permanently with the
Rugby Park
Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for con ...
outfit in July 2018. On 23 September 2018, he scored a
last-minute winner in a
league fixture at home to former club Celtic, giving Killie a 2–1 victory.
Philadelphia Union
On 25 February 2021, Findlay moved over to the United States, to join
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
club
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...
for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal, with the option to extend a further year.
He made his debut on 15 April 2021, coming off the bench in the side's 4–0 home win against
Deportivo Saprissa
Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...
in the
CONCACAF Champions League
The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...
.
27 June 2021, he made his first start for Philadelphia Union away against
Chicago Fire in a 3–3 draw, also his first appearance in
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
.
Oxford United
On 19 July 2022, Findlay signed for
EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...
for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract. He made his debut in the first league game of the season, a 1–0 away defeat to
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
, and scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...
in the
EFL Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
group stage on 30 August 2022.
International career
Findlay was first called into the
Scotland under-21 squad in November 2012 by coach
Ricky Sbragia
Richard Sbragia (born 26 May 1956) is a Scottish football coach and former player.
His playing career, mainly in the English lower leagues began at Birmingham City, Walsall, Blackpool, York City and a loan spell at Darlington. Sbragia had a ...
for a friendly against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. His 13th and final
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
at this age level was in October 2015 against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
at
Pittodrie Stadium
Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they were ...
.
Findlay received his first call-up to the senior
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
squad in March 2019 for games against
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
.
He earned his first full international cap on 13 October 2019 in a 6–0 win over San Marino at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
, in which he played the full 90 minutes and scored Scotland's 5th goal.
Personal life
He attended
Trinity High School, Rutherglen
Trinity High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in Eastfield, Rutherglen, Scotland near the city of Glasgow. It was established in 1971. The current head teacher is Allison Craig who took office in 2021 with incumbent Peter Bol ...
,
[ and was in the same year group as fellow Celtic youth team player ]Dom Thomas
Dominic Thomas (born 14 February 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Queen's Park. Thomas, who started his professional career with Motherwell, has also played for Kilmarnock and has been on loan over two spel ...
, who broke through as a professional with Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
and was later a teammate at Kilmarnock.
Career statistics
Club
International
[
:''Scotland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Findlay goal''
]
References
External links
*
*
*
Newcastle profile
at ''Toon1892''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Stuart
1995 births
Living people
Scottish footballers
People educated at Trinity High School, Rutherglen
Footballers from Glasgow
Scotland youth international footballers
Scotland under-21 international footballers
Association football defenders
Celtic F.C. players
Greenock Morton F.C. players
Dumbarton F.C. players
Kilmarnock F.C. players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Philadelphia Union players
Oxford United F.C. players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Scotland international footballers
Scottish expatriate footballers
Scottish expatriates in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Major League Soccer players
MLS Next Pro players
Philadelphia Union II players