Oliver Finney
Finney with Hartlepool United in 2023
Personal information
Full name Oliver Vincent Finney[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-15) 15 December 1997 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Kidsgrove Athletic
Youth career
0000–2016 Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2023 Crewe Alexandra 99 (14)
2016–2017 → Nantwich Town (loan)
2017 → Halesowen Town (loan) 0 (0)
2023 Hartlepool United 20 (2)
2023– Kidsgrove Athletic 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:57, 24 January 2024 (UTC)

Oliver Vincent Finney (born 15 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kidsgrove Athletic.

After seven seasons at his first club, Crewe Alexandra, Finney joined Hartlepool United in January 2023 before leaving in November 2023.

Career

Crewe Alexandra

Finney signed professional terms with Crewe in early 2016 while still a scholar in the club's academy.[4] In December 2016, he joined Nantwich Town on loan.[5]

He made his Crewe debut on 6 May 2017, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute for James Jones against Barnet at Gresty Road, Crewe's final game of the 2016–17 season.[6] On 9 May 2017, Crewe announced that Finney had been offered a new contract by the club,[7] and he signed a new one-year deal on 11 May 2017.[8]

On 1 September 2017, Finney signed for Northern Premier League team Halesowen Town on a two-month loan deal along with teammate Daniel Udoh,[9] returning to Crewe in November after incurring an injury.[10]

Finney signed a further one-year contract with Crewe in May 2018.[11] He made his first start for Crewe in a Football League Trophy tie against Manchester City under-21s on 25 September 2018,[12] and his first start in a league game at Northampton Town on 3 November 2018.[13]

Offered a new contract by Crewe at the end of the 2018–19 season,[14] Finney agreed a new one-year deal with another year option.[15] On 9 October 2019, Finney scored his first Crewe goal, the equaliser in an EFL Trophy tie at Mansfield Town that finished 1–1; he then scored in the penalty shoot-out that Crewe won 4–3.[16] He scored his first two league goals in a 5–0 win over Morecambe at Gresty Road on 23 November 2019.[17]

A contract extension clause was triggered by Crewe in June 2020,[18] and Finney signed a new three-year contract in September 2020.[19] After scoring eight goals in 30 previous appearances during the 2020–21 season, Finney suffered a broken leg due to what Crewe manager David Artell described as "a horrific tackle" by Shrewsbury's Harry Chapman in Crewe's 1–0 win on 2 February 2021.[20] In April 2021, he was rated unlikely to play again in the remainder of the season.[21][22] In July 2021, Finney agreed another year-long extension to his contract, committing himself to Crewe until 2024.[23]

Hartlepool United

On 31 January 2023, Finney signed for League Two side Hartlepool United on a permanent deal,[24] making his debut in Pools' 1–0 win at Doncaster Rovers on 4 February 2023.[25] On 1 April 2023, he scored his first Hartlepool goal with a long distance strike in added time to win the match 2–1 against Swindon Town.[26] Finney left Hartlepool on 2 November 2023.[27]

Kidsgrove Athletic

After leaving Pools, Finney signed for Northern Premier League Division One West side Kidsgrove Athletic. He made his debut in a 2–1 win over Trafford on 25 November 2023.[28]

Personal life

Finney is the older brother of Crewe Alexandra midfielder Charlie Finney.[29]

Legal issues

In March 2018, Finney received a 17-month driving ban after he was caught driving whilst almost two times over the drink-drive limit. He was fined £219 and also ordered to pay £165 costs.[30]

In October 2023, Finney was charged with raping a woman in Cheshire in 2022 and was initially suspended by Hartlepool United,[31] before leaving the club early the following month.[32] On 14 December 2023, he pleaded not guilty to the rape charge at Chester Crown Court, and was bailed ahead of a trial scheduled for December 2024.[33]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 December 2023
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Crewe Alexandra 2016–17 League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2017–18[34] League Two 1 0 - - - - - - 1 0
2018–19[35] League Two 17 0 1 0 - - 1[a] 0 19 0
2019–20[36] League Two 18 5 2 0 1 0 3[a] 1 24 6
2020–21[37] League One 25 7 2 1 1 0 3[a] 0 31 8
2021–22[38] League One 27 2 1 0 1 0 5[a] 2 34 4
2022–23[39] League Two 10 0 0 0 1 0 3[a] 0 14 0
Total 99 14 6 1 4 0 15 3 124 17
Hartlepool United 2022–23[39] League Two 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
2023–24[3] National League 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
Total 20 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 2
Kidsgrove Athletic 2023–24[40] NPL Division One West 5 0 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 6 0
Career total 124 16 6 1 4 0 16 3 150 19
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance in Staffordshire Senior Cup

Honours

Crewe Alexandra

References

  1. ^ "Retained List 2015–16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Ollie Finney". 11v11. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b Oliver Finney at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ Sharpe, Rick (20 April 2016). "Crewe Alexandra: Teenage midfielder becomes latest Academy graduate to pen first professional deal". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  5. ^ Whitney, Steve (7 December 2016). "Dabbers Borrow Crewe Youngster". Non-League News. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 4–1 Barnet". BBC Sport. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. ^ Crewe Alexandra Retained List 2017, CreweAlex.net. Retrieved: 9 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Oliver Finney Signs New Crewe Contract". CreweAlex.net. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  9. ^ "NEW SIGNINGS Crewe Alexandra pair Oliver Finley and Daniel Udoh join on 2 month loan". Halesowen Town F.C.
  10. ^ "Loans: Dale Joins Witton, Udoh Remains At Halesowen, Finney Returns". CreweAlex.net. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Contracts: Finney & Jaaskelainen Pen New Deals". CreweAlex.net. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Report: Crewe Alex 1–4 Man City U21". CreweAlex.Net. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Northampton Town 2–0 Crewe Alexandra". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Crewe Alexandra: Nicky Hunt signs new deal, but George Ray rejects contract offer". BBC Sport. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  15. ^ Wilson, Rob (14 May 2019). "Boss: "Finney Has Gone On Again This Season And Needs To Do So Again"". CreweAlex.net. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Mansfield Town 1–1 Crewe Alexandra". Mansfield Town FC. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 5–0 Morecambe". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  18. ^ Morse, Peter (10 June 2020). "Paul Green and Nicky Hunt released as Crewe Alex announce retained list". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Oli Finney: Crewe Alexandra midfielder signs three-year contract". BBC Sport. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Oli Finney Suffers Broken Leg". CreweAlex.net. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Finney 'Unlikely' To Feature Again This Season". CAFC. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Crewe Alex: Offord out for rest of term as Artell puts Finney comeback on hold for now". Crewe Nub News. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  23. ^ Johnson, Steve (28 July 2021). "Midfielder signs to 2024". Vital Football. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Pools Sign Oliver Finney". Hartlepool United. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Doncaster Rovers 0–1 Hartlepool United". BBC Sport. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  26. ^ Joe Ramage (1 April 2023). "Hartlepool United 2–1 Swindon Town: Pools stage dramatic late comeback to boost relegation hopes". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  27. ^ "Oliver Finney: Midfielder leaves Hartlepool United after rape charge". BBC Sport. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Oliver Finney". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  29. ^ "Charlie Finney". Crewe Alexandra. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Promising footballer, 20, banned from driving after blowing almost twice the legal drink-drive limit". Stoke Sentinel. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Former Crewe Alex player charged with rape and suspended by current club". Crewe Nub News. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  32. ^ Ledwith, Gavin (15 November 2023). "Finney appears in court charged with raping a woman". Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  33. ^ "Ex-Hartlepool United midfielder Oliver Finney will face trial after pleading not guilty to rape". TeessideLive. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  34. ^ "Games played by Oliver Finney in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  35. ^ "Games played by Oliver Finney in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  36. ^ "Games played by Oliver Finney in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  37. ^ "Games played by Oliver Finney in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  38. ^ "Games played by Oliver Finney in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  39. ^ a b "Games played by Oliver Finney in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  40. ^ "Oliver Finney". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  41. ^ Ged Scott (13 June 2020). "David Artell: Crewe Alexandra boss was always 'quietly confident' of winning promotion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
Categories