Steve Finnieston (born 30 November 1954) is a Scottish retired

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 lea ...

who played during the 1970s and 1980s, most notably for Chelsea. A striker, Finnieston first joined Chelsea as a 12-year-old. He signed professional forms in December 1971. He made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in 1975 and spent time on loan at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

during the same season. He didn't establish himself as a regular in the Chelsea first-team until 1976–77. That season was his most prolific, as he struck up an impressive partnership with Kenny Swain and scored 24 league goals, including a crucial winner against promotion rivals

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

and a final day

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

created by a partnership with Tommy Langley, who also scored, against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. Chelsea were promoted back to the

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at the end of the season but thereafter the goals dried up, though he did score in Chelsea's unexpected 4–2 win over European champions

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round. He joined

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

in June 1978 and scored four goals for them in 23 appearances. Finnieston retired from professional football in 1980 at the age of 25 due to injury. He made a comeback a year later in

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

football with Addlestone & Weybridge Town and

Hartley Wintney Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It lies about northwest of Fleet and east of Basingstoke. The parish includes the smaller contiguous village of Phoenix Green as well as the ...

. He also played and scored in a friendly for

Camberley Town Camberley Town Football Club is a semi-professional football based in Camberley, Surrey, England. They are currently members of the and play at Krooner Park. History The club was established in 1895 after a discussion at St Michael's church, ...

in August 1991 but he never played a competitive game for the club. He later became a

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and worked as a sales rep for

Travis Perkins Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, ...

until 2006. He is now self-employed.

References

1954 births Living people Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Cardiff City F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players English Football League players Addlestone & Weybridge Town F.C. players Hartley Wintney F.C. players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-forward-1950s-stub