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Shaun James Whalley (born 7 August 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Accrington Stanley. 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. 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. 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. 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'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.
He has stated that he has had problems with alcohol and gambling, but has moderated his use of both.
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. 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 August 2009, following his release from Wrexham, Whalley returned to the Conference North to join Droylsden. Whalley scored his first two goals for the club as Droylsden beat Northwich Victoria 5–1. He added another goal to his tally, scoring in a 2–0 win over league favourites Fleetwood Town, before adding another two goals to his name as Droylsden beat Harrogate Town 5–0. He scored two goals in a match for the third time in the season as Droylsden recorded a 5–3 win over Solihull Moors at the Butcher's Arms Ground. He won Manchester Premier Cup winners medal in his one season at Droylsden before he left at the end of the 2009–10 season, having scored a total of 15 goals in 32 league appearances.
In early October, while still on the books at Hyde, he was called up to the Football Association XI squad alongside teammate Scott Mooney for a game against Hallam FC to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Sheffield-based club. Whalley scored his first cup goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Oldham Boro in the Manchester Premier Cup, but less than a week later, he scored an own goal as part of a 3–0 away loss to Blyth Spartans, and was then sent off again for two bookable offences against Vauxhall Motors
Whalley scored his first goal of the new year in a 2–1 victory over local rivals Stalybridge Celtic. He scored again in the quarter-final of the Manchester Premier Cup against his old club Droylsden, which proved to be his last for the club.
He opened his goalscoring account for the 2011–12 season on the opening day as part of a 2–2 draw with Lincoln City. He scored his second of the season in a 3–2 win over Telford United. On 15 March 2012, he signed a new two-year contract with the club. He scored a total of ten goals in all-competitions for Southport in the 2011–12 season, helping them to their highest league finish in ten years—7th in the Conference Premier.
Whalley had a good start to the 2012–13 season, scoring two goals in four games, including in a 3–3 draw with Alfreton Town. He went on to play in all but three of Southport's league games, scoring seven further goals and at the end of the season was named the club's player of the year.
After failing to win a regular starting place in the Luton line-up, Whalley moved on loan on 23 January 2014 to Conference North side AFC Telford United, led by his former Southport manager Liam Watson. He scored five goals in 18 games as Telford won the Conference North title, scoring in the crucial final game of the season. With Luton also winning their league, Whalley had the unique distinction of being awarded both Conference Premier and Conference North winners' medals in the same season.
Whalley played a more active part in Luton's return to the Football League, playing in 18 league games, often in the starting XI, and scoring three goals.
On 27 April 2015, Whalley and teammate Ricky Miller were both arrested by Bedfordshire Police in connection with an alleged assault following Luton Town's end of season awards night. Both were released on bail, but were suspended by the club pending a police inquiry. Whalley was not charged due to a lack of evidence. On 18 May 2015, Whalley left Luton by mutual consent two months before the end of his contract.
A persistent thigh injury restricted Whalley's first-team involvement at the start of the following season, which also coincided with a change in management at the club, after a poor start to the season left Shrewsbury rooted to the bottom of the League One table. Whalley scored his first goal of the season against Oxford United, deep in injury time, to seal a 2–0 victory for new manager Paul Hurst in his first home league match in charge.
After becoming a first-team regular under Hurst, and helping Shrewsbury avoid relegation once again in 2016–17, Whalley signed a two-year contract extension in May 2017. He featured in 58 matches in all competitions in 2017–18, scoring twelve goals, as Shrewsbury reached both the EFL Trophy final and the 2018 EFL League One play-off final, although they ultimately finished as runners-up on both occasions.
Having surpassed 150 appearances for the club in all competitions during the 2018–19 season, Whalley signed another two-year contract extension in April 2019.
On 4 February 2020, Whalley scored in front of the travelling Shrewsbury fans at Anfield in an FA Cup fourth round replay against his beloved Liverpool, only for the goal to be controversially overturned by VAR for offside against Scott Golbourne.
Whalley reached 200 appearances for the club in November 2020, marking the occasion with the opening goal in a 2–2 draw against Milton Keynes Dons. His dedication to the club was celebrated by managers and teammates past and present in the local press. An appearance-based contract extension was triggered in May 2021, committing him to the club until Summer 2022.
On 3 May 2022, it was confirmed that Whalley would be leaving Shrewsbury Town after seven years. After being forced out by then Manager Steve Coterill.
Following a run of four goals in five matches, Whalley was named EFL League Two Player of the Month for January 2025.
| Chester City | 2004–05 | League Two | 0 |
| Runcorn | 2005–06 | Northern Premier League | 3 |
| Witton Albion | 2005–06 | Northern Premier League | 4 |
| 2006–07 | Northern Premier League | 2 | |
| Accrington Stanley | 2006–07 | League Two | 2 |
| 2007–08 | League Two | 3 | |
| Wrexham | 2008–09 | Conference Premier | 4 |
| Southport (loan) | 2008–09 | Conference North | 0 |
| Droylsden | 2009–10 | Conference North | 19 |
| Hyde | 2010–11 | Conference North | 5 |
| Southport | 2010–11 | Conference Premier | 8 |
| 2011–12 | Conference Premier | 10 | |
| 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 11 | |
| Luton Town | 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 2 |
| 2014–15 | League Two | 3 | |
| AFC Telford United (loan) | 2013–14 | Conference North | 5 |
| Shrewsbury Town | 2015–16 | League One | 7 |
| 2016–17 | League One | 3 | |
| 2017–18 | League One | 12 | |
| 2018–19 | League One | 3 | |
| 2019–20 | League One | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | League One | 9 | |
| 2021–22 | League One | 4 | |
Luton Town
AFC Telford United
Shrewsbury Town
Individual
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