Stuart John Findlay (born 14 September 1995) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock, on loan from EFL Championship club Oxford United. He has previously represented the Scotland national team at senior level.

Stuart Findlay
Personal information
Full name Stuart John Findlay[1]
Date of birth (1995-09-14) 14 September 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Carmyle, Scotland[citation needed]
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Kilmarnock (on loan from Oxford United)
Number 17
Youth career
2009–2013 Celtic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Celtic 0 (0)
2014Greenock Morton (loan) 14 (0)
2015Dumbarton (loan) 15 (0)
2015–2016Kilmarnock (loan) 22 (0)
2016–2018 Newcastle United 0 (0)
2017–2018Kilmarnock (loan) 32 (3)
2018–2021 Kilmarnock 71 (4)
2021–2022 Philadelphia Union 12 (0)
2022 Philadelphia Union II 2 (0)
2022– Oxford United 39 (0)
2023–Kilmarnock (loan) 40 (0)
International career
2010–2011 Scotland U16 2 (0)
2011–2012 Scotland U17 10 (2)
2012–2013 Scotland U19 7 (0)
2012–2015 Scotland U21 13 (0)
2019 Scotland 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:13, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

Club career

edit

Celtic

edit

Findlay came through the youth system at Celtic, making his first-team debut in a friendly against Norwich City.[3] He also captained Celtic at under-17 level,[4] and featured regularly for the Development side, taking part in the UEFA Youth League and the English Premier League International Cup.[5]

Greenock Morton (loan)

edit

In January 2014, Findlay signed for Greenock Morton on loan until the end of the season.[6] He made his debut on 1 February in a 1–1 draw against league leaders Falkirk, turning in an impressive performance.[7][8] Morton spent most of the season in an unsuccessful struggle against relegation, but Findlay continued to show promise. Morton lost 2–1 away at Raith Rovers on 15 March, but Findlay's pace and positional sense restricted Raith's goalscoring chances, and his overall performance was described as showing "composure beyond his years".[9] His spell at Morton ended on an embarrassing note, however, his side losing 10–2 against Hamilton Accies in their last game of the season, including a Findlay own goal.[10]

Dumbarton (loan)

edit

On 16 January 2015, Findlay joined Scottish Championship club Dumbarton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season.[11] He impressed immediately, and was named the club's player of the month for February.[12] He was noted for his composure with the ball, often carrying the ball out of defence with ease.[12] Findlay himself pointed out that "coming through at Celtic it is in their philosophy that they want to play out from the back, they want their defenders to be good on the ball."[12] His form also saw him named in the Scotland under-21 squad for a friendly with Hungary in March.[12] He left the club at the end of his loan deal, having made 15 appearances and twice been the recipient of the player of the month award.[13][14]

Kilmarnock (loan)

edit

On 9 July 2015, it was confirmed that Findlay was going out on loan to Kilmarnock for the 2015–16 season.[5] On 1 August 2015, Findlay made his Kilmarnock debut in a 4–0 defeat against Dundee, in which he featured for the entire 90 minutes.[15]

Newcastle United

edit

Findlay joined Football League Championship side Newcastle United on 8 July 2016, following his release from Celtic.[16] He made his debut for Newcastle in an FA Cup tie against Birmingham City on 18 January 2017.[17]

Kilmarnock

edit

In August 2017, Findlay returned to Kilmarnock on loan from Newcastle.[18] He made 36 appearances for the club during the 2017–18 season, then signed permanently with the Rugby Park outfit in July 2018.[19] On 23 September 2018, he scored a last-minute winner in a league fixture at home to former club Celtic, giving Killie a 2–1 victory.[20]

Philadelphia Union

edit

On 25 February 2021, Findlay moved over to the United States, to join Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal, with the option to extend a further year.[21][22] He made his debut on 15 April 2021, coming off the bench in the side's 4–0 home win against Deportivo Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions League.[23] 27 June 2021, he made his first start for Philadelphia Union away against Chicago Fire in a 3–3 draw, also his first appearance in Major League Soccer.[24]

Oxford United

edit

On 19 July 2022, Findlay signed for EFL League One club Oxford United for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract.[25] He made his debut in the first league game of the season, a 1–0 away defeat to Derby County,[26] and scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 victory over Leyton Orient in the EFL Trophy group stage on 30 August 2022.[27]

Findlay was loaned to Kilmarnock in July 2023[28] and the loan was renewed for a further season in June 2024.[29]

International career

edit

Findlay was first called into the Scotland under-21 squad in November 2012 by coach Ricky Sbragia for a friendly against Portugal.[30][31] His 13th and final cap at this age level was in October 2015 against France at Pittodrie Stadium.[32]

Findlay received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2019 for games against Kazakhstan and San Marino.[33] He earned his first full international cap on 13 October 2019 in a 6–0 win over San Marino at Hampden Park, in which he played the full 90 minutes and scored Scotland's 5th goal.[34]

Personal life

edit

He attended Trinity High School, Rutherglen,[3] and was in the same year group as fellow Celtic youth team player Dom Thomas, who broke through as a professional with Motherwell and was later a teammate at Kilmarnock.[35]

Career statistics

edit

Club

edit
As of match played 4 November 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 2013–14[36] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15[37] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015–16[38] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Greenock Morton (loan) 2013–14[36] Scottish Championship 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Dumbarton (loan) 2014–15[37] Scottish Championship 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Kilmarnock (loan) 2015–16[38] Scottish Premiership 22 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 27 0
Newcastle United 2016–17[39] Championship 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2017–18[40] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Kilmarnock (loan) 2017–18[40] Scottish Premiership 32 3 4 0 0 0 36 3
Kilmarnock 2018–19[41] Scottish Premiership 31 3 1 1 2 0 34 4
2019–20[42] 18 1 2 2 2 0 2[a] 1 24 4
2020–21[43] 22 0 0 0 1 0 23 0
Total 71 4 3 3 5 0 2 1 81 8
Philadelphia Union 2021 Major League Soccer 8 0 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 8 0
2022 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
Total 12 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 13 1
Oxford United 2022–23 EFL League One 39 0 2 0 1 0 2[c] 1 44 1
Kilmarnock (loan) 2023–24 Scottish Premiership 37 0 2 0 6 2 17 2
Career total 242 7 16 3 14 2 4 2 276 14
  1. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League
  3. ^ Appearances in the EFL Trophy

International

edit
As of 13 October 2019[44]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 2019 1 1
Total 1 1
As of 13 October 2019[44]
Scotland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Findlay goal
List of international goals scored by Stuart Findlay
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 October 2019 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland   San Marino 5–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

References

edit
  1. ^ "List of temporary transfers of players under written contract between 01/08/2017 and 31/08/2017". The Football Association. p. 25. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Stuart Findlay". Oxford United F.C. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Stuart Findlay: Celtic youth player and one of original intake in 2009". The Herald. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Who is Stuart Findlay". Celtic News Now. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. ^ a b Henderson, Mark (9 July 2015). "Stuart Findlay heads on loan to Kilmarnock". Celtic F.C. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (21 January 2014). "Riordan to train with Morton as Peciar leaves". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Falkirk 1–1 Morton". Scottish Professional Football League. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Lennon delighted with Findlay's loan move to Morton". Greenock Telegraph. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Spence double earns valuable victory". Raith Rovers F.C. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  10. ^ Crawford, Kenny (3 May 2014). "Hamilton 10–2 Morton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  11. ^ Findlay, Alan (16 January 2015). "New face at the rock". Dumbarton F.C. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d "Stuart hopes to impress Celts with Sons displays". Dumbarton Reporter. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Baxter Ramsay Player of the Month". Dumbarton F.C. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Baxter Ramsay Player of the Month". Dumbarton F.C. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Kilmarnock vs. Dundee". Soccerway. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Magpies Sign Young Duo". Newcastle United F.C. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Newcastle 3-1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Player Announcement: Stuart Findlay". Kilmarnock F.C. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Kilmarnock: Bournemouth's Mikael Ndjoli and Newcastle's Stuart Findlay sign up". BBC Sport. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  20. ^ Lyall, Jamie (23 September 2018). "Kilmarnock 2–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Philadelphia Union Sign Center Back Stuart Findlay". Philadelphia Union. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Stuart Findlay joins Philadelphia Union". Kilmarnock F.C. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  23. ^ Fishman, Nick (14 April 2021). "Match report: Philadelphia Union 4-0 Deportivo Saprissa". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  24. ^ Servedio, Mike (26 June 2021). "Match Report: Chicago Fire 3-3 Philadelphia Union". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Stuart Findlay Joins Oxford United". Oxford United F.C. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  26. ^ Williams, Chris (30 July 2022). "REPORT Derby County 1 Oxford United 0". Oxford United F.C. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  27. ^ Roberts, James (31 August 2022). "Oxford United player ratings for win over Leyton Orient in Papa John's Trophy". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  28. ^ Delaney, James (14 July 2023). "Kilmarnock secure Stuart Findlay return as Scotland cap agrees loan move from Oxford United". STV News. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  29. ^ Rice, Liam (4 June 2024). "Stuart Findlay rejoins Kilmarnock on loan from Oxford United". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Stuart Findlay and Marcus Fraser have been called into the Scotland U21 squad". Sky Sports. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  31. ^ "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  32. ^ "Scotland 1-2 France". Scottish FA. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  33. ^ "Scotland: Andy Robertson to miss Kazakhstan clash as trio also pull out". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  34. ^ Lamont, Alasdair (13 October 2019). "Scotland 6–0 San Marino". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Trinity High School awards". Daily Record/Rutherglen Reformer. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  36. ^ a b "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  37. ^ a b "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  38. ^ a b "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  39. ^ "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  40. ^ a b "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  41. ^ "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  42. ^ "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  43. ^ "Games played by Stuart Findlay in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  44. ^ a b "Stuart Findlay". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
edit