Carl Finnigan is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer who is currently playing for St. Johnstone.

Career

Finnigan was born in Jarrow

Jarrow

Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...

. As a youngster, he played for Jarrow F.C.'s under-age teams before joining Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. He scored 56 goals for Newcastle's reserve

Reserve team

Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...

 and academy

Youth system

Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...

 teams from 102 starts and 20 substitute appearances, but never appeared in a competitive first-team game.

Finnigan joined Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club Falkirk

Falkirk F.C.

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

 on 23 January 2007, replacing Anthony Stokes

Anthony Stokes (footballer)

Anthony Stokes is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premier League club Celtic and the Republic of Ireland national football team....

 who had left the "Bairns" to sign for Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

. He made his Falkirk debut, and his first appearance in a senior league, as a second-half substitute against Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock F.C.

Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...

 on 27 January 2007. The forward scored his first Bairns' goal three weeks later against Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

, when he "played a neat one-two with Gow and drilled a shot beyond McGregor from the edge of the penalty area". In the 2008–09 season, he played a major role, scoring twice and winning a penalty

Penalty kick

A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...

, in Falkirk's 4–0 victory over rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...

 in what proved a successful fight against relegation

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

. He also scored the winner against the same opposition to take Falkirk through to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

, and had a goal disallowed in the Cup Final

2009 Scottish Cup Final

The 2009 Scottish Cup Final was the final of the 124th season of the main domestic football cup competition in Scotland, the Scottish Cup. The final was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 30 May 2009...

.

Before the 2009–10 season, Finnigan signed a new one-year contract with Falkirk, with an option for a second year.

On 24 June 2011, Finnigan signed for Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 (SPL) club St. Johnstone.

External links