Finney began his career as an apprentice with
Preston North End, where he made his professional debut during
1991–92. After just six league appearances he moved to
Premier League side
Manchester City 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 title. Apart from a loan spell with
Cambridge United in 1997, Finney remained with Swindon until July 1998, when he moved to
Carlisle United. 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 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 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==