Shaun Whalley

Shaun James Whalley (born 7 August 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League Two club Accrington Stanley.

Whalley's father, Neil Whalley, was also a professional footballer in the early 1990s.

He too played in midfield and made more than 50 appearances for Preston North End, where he was also captain for a period of time.

As a child, he played football for his local teams until 2001 when he was spotted by Norwich City.

Born in Prescot, Merseyside, Whalley played for Norwich City and Southport as a youth before making his Football League debut with Chester City in 2004.

After leaving Chester, he spent time in non-League football with Runcorn F.C. Halton and Witton Albion.

He went to play for their academy, where he played for three years before leaving in 2004.

He subsequently returned to Merseyside and joined Southport, where he played several reserve-team matches.

In the summer of the same year, Whalley turned professional when he signed for Football League side Chester City.

With Chester, Whalley played mostly for the youth and reserve teams, but he made his Football League debut for the club in a 0–0 draw with Cambridge United on 18 September 2004, coming on as a substitute for Darryn Stamp.

His debut came just one day after he signed a professional contract with Chester; manager Ian Rush had only included him on the substitutes' bench as a result of injuries to Daryl Clare and Michael Branch.

The following week, he was part of the side that defeated Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium in the second round of the Football League Trophy.

Whalley made three further senior appearances for Chester, all as a substitute, before leaving the club in the summer of 2005.

In August of that year, Whalley moved into non-League football with Runcorn as one of several new signings for the Northern Premier League outfit.

He made his first appearance for the club in the 1–1 draw with Frickley Athletic and subsequently established himself as a regular first-team player.

Whalley scored his first goal for Runcorn in the 5–1 defeat of his hometown club, Prescot Cables and he netted again the following week in the loss to Matlock Town.

While on the books at Witton, he spent five weeks on trial with Football League One side Crewe Alexandra but was not offered a contract, so he signed for League Two side Accrington Stanley in 2006.

He went on to play 21 league matches for Runcorn before joining Witton Albion in March 2006.

During his short spell with the club, he scored 6 goals in 18 league appearances.

In September 2006, while at Witton, Whalley spent five weeks on trial at League One club Crewe Alexandra, but he was not offered a permanent contract.

He subsequently joined League Two side Accrington Stanley on loan two months later.

Whalley made his debut for the club in the 1–2 defeat to Hartlepool United at the Crown Ground.

However, two weeks later, he was sent off in the Football League Trophy match against Doncaster Rovers following a high tackle on Theo Streete, although Accrington manager John Coleman felt that the challenge was not deserving of a red card.

The subsequent suspension meant that Whalley spent almost a month out of the side before returning in late December in the loss to Bristol Rovers.

He made his transfer to Accrington permanent in January 2007, signing a two-year contract with the club, and the following week he scored a late winner in the 3–2 victory over Mansfield Town, his first goal for the team.

Whalley spent almost two years with the Lancashire club, but following his release in the summer of 2008, he returned to non-League, initially with Wrexham.

While at Wrexham, he had a short loan spell with Southport where he helped the team to the Conference North play-offs.

Whalley remained a first-team regular for the rest of the 2006–07 season and retained his place in the starting line-up throughout most of the following season, and scored his first Accrington goal away from the Crown Ground in the 8–2 loss at Peterborough United on 15 January 2008.

Whalley made a total of 51 league appearances for Accrington, scoring 5 goals, but in May 2008, he was one of 10 players released by the club.

In June 2008, he moved down a division to join Conference Premier side Wrexham.

He subsequently played at Droylsden, where he was part of the team that won the Manchester Premier Cup in 2010, and Hyde before joining Southport again on a permanent basis in January 2011.

He was signed by Luton Town in the summer of 2013 for an undisclosed fee, and joined AFC Telford United on loan in 2014.

Both Luton and Telford won their respective leagues during the 2013–14 season, making Whalley a winner of both the Conference Premier and the Conference North in the same season.

He left Luton in May 2015, later joining Shrewsbury.

Described as an "express-train down the wings" by former teammate Paul Mullin, Whalley was called up to the Football Association XI standby squad for a game against Hallam, the game taking place to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the club.

He is the son of the former Preston North End captain Neil Whalley, who was also a midfielder.

Whalley was born in Prescot, Merseyside but raised in Widnes.

Growing up, Whalley was an avid fan of Liverpool.

Whalley married his partner Jessica in 2018, and they have a son.

He has stated that he has had problems with alcohol and gambling, but has moderated his use of both.