Stephen Kenneth Finney (31 October 1973 – 2 February 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. He made appearances in The Football League for six clubs.

Playing career

Finney began his career as an apprentice with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, where he made his professional debut during 1991–92. After just six league appearances he moved to Premier League side

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in February 1993, but he failed to make the first team while at Maine Road. In the summer of 1995, Finney moved to Swindon Town, scoring 12 times in his first season to help them to the

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

title. Apart from a loan spell with Cambridge United in 1997, Finney remained with Swindon until July 1998, when he moved to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. But before the 1998–99 season had finished, Finney had moved on to Leyton Orient for a short spell with the London club. Finney spent time on trial with Exeter City in the summer of 1999, and then dropped into non–league football with

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

before returning to The Football League with struggling Chester City on 18 October 1999 after sending his CV to the club. During his 14-month stint at the club, he failed to score a competitive goal and was part of the side that were relegated to the Football Conference. In December 2000 he joined Altrincham, initially on loan. He scored a hat–trick against

Whitby Town Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Founded in 1880, Whitby are one of the oldest clubs from the Nor ...

in his third game for the club. He scored 11 goals in 24 games during his initial loan spell with the club. Following his release from Chester, he made a single cup appearance for Altrincham before his release.

Personal life and death

Following his retirement from football, Finney worked as a car salesman and business development manager. He also coached Ullswater United in the Westmorland League. He died on 2 February 2022, at the age of 48.

Honours

Swindon Town * Football League Second Division: 1995–96

References

External links

* (pre-Chester) * (Chester) {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Steve 1973 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Hexham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players National League (English football) players Preston North End F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players