 Finley withBristol Rovers in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Joseph Finley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-08-04)4 August 1992 (age 33) | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tranmere Rovers | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| 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) |
| 2021–2024 | Bristol Rovers | 104 | (5) |
| 2024– | Tranmere Rovers | 33 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:03, 25 April 2025 (UTC) | |||
Samuel Joseph Finley (born 4 August 1992) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forEFL League Two clubTranmere Rovers.
Finley was first picked up as a youth byEverton, where he stayed until he was 16.[2]
Finley would then play for non-league clubsSouthport andWarrington, before being released by the latter.[3] Following this, Finley was signed byWelsh Premier League sideThe New Saints.[2]
He would spend 5 years at the Welsh club, making appearances inChampions League qualifying againstLegia Warsaw andAnderlecht during his time there.[2] He also won the Welsh Premier League with TNS four years in a row, along with 2Welsh Cup victories and 1Welsh League Cup.[4]
In February 2015, he was loaned toConference sideWrexham.[4]
In August 2015, Finley would move toAFC 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 withLeague One sideAccrington Stanley.[2] He made his debut for the club on his 26th birthday, coming off of the bench in a 0–2 home defeat toGillingham.[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 internationalPaul 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]
On 18 September 2020, Finley joinedFleetwood 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 againstPlymouth 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]
On 26 May 2021, Finley agreed to join League Two sideBristol Rovers on a two-year contract active from 1 July, linking back up with former-Fleetwood managerJoey Barton.[14] Having missed all of pre-season after contractingCOVID-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 toStevenage.[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 atExeter City.[17] Finley took the captain's armband for the final match of the season, a 7–0 win overScunthorpe United that saw Rovers move into the final automatic promotion place on goals scored.[18]
On 20 September 2022, Finley signed a new contract with the club that would see his stay extended until the summer of 2024.[19]
Following the departure ofPaul Coutts, Finley was named club captain prior to the commencement of the2023–24 season.[20] On 19 September 2023, he scored his first goal since April 2022 in a 3–1EFL Trophy defeat toWest Ham United U21s.[21] In April 2024, following Rovers' penultimate match of the season, Finley announced that he would be departing the club upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the season.[22][23]
On 4 June 2024, Finley agreed to join League Two sideTranmere Rovers on a two-year contract.[24] On 25 April 2025, he was suspended for 13 games by theFootball Association forhomophobic abuse directed to Walsall strikerJamille Matt.[25][26]
| 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[27] | League Two | 36 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 40 | 6 | |
| 2022–23[28] | League One | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[29] | League One | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 1 | 38 | 1 | ||
| Total | 104 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 121 | 7 | ||
| Total | 372 | 46 | 24 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 438 | 55 | ||
AFC Fylde
Bristol Rovers