Sam Finley

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Sam Finley
Personal information
Full name Samuel Joseph Finley[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-04) 4 August 1992 (age 29)
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Bristol Rovers
Number 6
Youth career
–2008 Everton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Southport
2010–2011 Warrington Town
2011–2015 The New Saints 64 (18)
2015 → Wrexham (loan) 14 (0)
2015–2018 AFC Fylde 95 (17)
2018–2020 Accrington Stanley 68 (3)
2020–2021 Fleetwood Town 29 (3)
2021– Bristol Rovers 16 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:34, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

Samuel Joseph Finley (born 4 August 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bristol Rovers.

Career[]

Finley was first picked up as a youth by Everton, where he stayed until he was 16.[2]

Finley would then play for non-league clubs Southport and Warrington, before being released by the latter. [3] Following this, Finley was signed by Welsh Premier League side The New Saints.[2]

He would spend 5 years at the Welsh club, making appearances in Champions League qualifying against Legia Warsaw and Anderlecht during his time there.[2] He also won the Welsh Premier League with TNS four years in a row, along with 2 Welsh Cup victories and 1 Welsh League Cup.[4]

In February 2015, he was loaned to Conference side Wrexham.[4]

In August 2015, Finley would move to AFC Fylde on a free transfer.[5] He stayed at the club for 3 years, eventually becoming club captain.[6]

On 29 June 2018, Finley signed a 2 year contract with League One side Accrington Stanley.[2] He made his debut for the club on his 26th birthday, coming off of the bench in a 0-2 home defeat to Gillingham.[7]

In April 2020, Finley picked up an 8 match ban as a result of an investigation around a comment made to Rochdale's former Irish international Paul McShane, during a League One fixture on New Year's day 2020, regarding McShane's nationality.[8]

On 15 September 2020, Finley left Accrington Stanley by mutual consent and became a free agent. His previous 8 match ban was cited as a reason for the decision. [9]

Fleetwood Town[]

On 18 September 2020, Finley joined Fleetwood Town on a one-year deal.[10] He made his debut on 20 October, coming on as a substitute in the 84th minute of a 1–0 away defeat against Accrington, the club he had been released from just a month earlier.[11] He scored his first goal for Fleetwood in a 5-1 win against Plymouth Argyle on 21 November 2020.[12] At the end of the season, it was announced that Finley's contract would not be being renewed by the club and he would be one of nine players to be leaving the club.[13]

Bristol Rovers[]

On 26 May 2021, Finley agreed to join League Two side Bristol Rovers on a two-year contract active from 1 July, linking back up with former-Fleetwood manager Joey Barton.[14] Having missed all of pre-season after contracting COVID-19 as well as picking up a muscle injury,[15] Finley missed Rovers' first two matches of the season and made his debut on 14 August in a 2–0 home defeat to Stevenage.[16] Finley scored his first goal for the club the following week when he curled a consolation goal into the top corner from 25 yards as Rovers lost 4–1 at Exeter City.[17]

Career statistics[]

As of match played 22 January 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup Champions League Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
The New Saints 2010–11[4] Welsh Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011–12[4] Welsh Premier League 5 1 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 9 3
2012–13[4] Welsh Premier League 23 3 3 2 3 0 2 0 0 0 29 5
2013–14[4] Welsh Premier League 26 10 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 31 11
2014–15[4] Welsh Premier League 10 4 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 13 4
2015–16[4] Welsh Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 0
Total 64 18 6 3 8 2 10 0 0 0 88 23
Wrexham (loan) 2014–15[4] Football Conference 14 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 14 0
AFC Fylde 2015–16[4] National League North 38 8 1 0 0 0 – 4[b] 0 43 8
2016–17[4] National League North 23 3 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 23 3
2017–18[4] National League 34 6 4 1 0 0 – 0 0 38 7
Total 95 17 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 104 18
Accrington Stanley 2018–19[4] League One 37 1 3 0 1 1 – 3[c] 1 44 3
2019–20[4] League One 31 2 1 0 1 0 – 5[c] 1 38 3
Total 68 3 4 0 2 1 0 0 8 2 82 6
Fleetwood Town 2020–21[4] League One 27 3 1 0 0 0 – 1[c] 0 29 3
Bristol Rovers 2021–22[18] League Two 16 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 20 3
Total 284 43 19 5 10 3 10 0 14 2 338 51
  1. ^ Includes appearances in Welsh Cup and FA Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
  3. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

Honours[]

The New Saints[4]

AFC Fylde

References[]

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Stanley new boy Sam Finley eager to prove his point in League One". This Is Lancashire. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Finley leaves Town". Warrington Town FC. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "S. Finley". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Sam Finley". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  6. ^ "AFC Fylde captain Sam Finley joins Accrington Stanley". Blackpool Gazette. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Accrington Stanley 0-2". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Accrington's Finley gets eight-game ban". BBC Sport.
  9. ^ "Finley leaves the Reds by mutual consent".
  10. ^ "Finley joins Fleetwood Town". www.fleetwoodtownfc.com. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Accrington Stanley 1–0 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Fleetwood 5-1 Plymouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Retained list announced". www.fleetwoodtownfc.com. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  14. ^ "First Summer Signings Announced!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 26 May 2021.
  15. ^ "The key men, pleasant surprises and questions to answer from Bristol Rovers' pre-season". Bristol Post. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Bristol Rovers 0–2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Exeter City 4–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Games played by Sam Finley in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
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