Right-sided midfielder Simon Whaley joined Norwich from Preston on 24th July 2009 for a small undisclosed fee following prolonged transfer negotiations and medical tests.

Whaley began his career with Bury for whom he made his debut in October 2002. He played 85 times for the Shakers before transferring to Preston for £300,000 in January 2006. He made his debut in the league match against Millwall on January 14th 2006 and went on to score 3 times in 17 games that season. The following year started well and he ended the season with 7 goals in 33 starts.

Falling out with manager Alan Irvine, Whaley was loaned to Barnsley in November 2008 for a month. At the time of his transfer to Norwich, he had made 120 appearances for Preston, scoring 14 goals.

Simon made his debut for Norwich in the 7-1 shock home defeat to Colchester on the opening day of the 2009/10 season. After making six appearances for Norwich, Whaley was loaned by new Norwich manager Paul Lambert to Rochdale for a month on 18th September 2009. “Simon needs games,” said Lambert. “He came to me and asked if he could go out on loan if he wasn't in our immediate plans, and this move gives him the chance to get some games under his belt.”

After making 9 appearances for Rochdale, scoring twice, he returned to Carrow Road on 19th November 2009 after Dale were unable to agree a deal to extend his stay at Spotland. The following day, he signed for Bradford City on loan until 2nd January 2010.

Whaley was released by Norwich in January 2010 and joined Oldham on trial in February 2010 and played in the 2-0 Manchester Senior Cup win against Bury.

Whaley signed for Chesterfield on 19th February 2010 and scored on his debut the following day in a 3-2 win at Darlington. He picked up an injury in March that required an operation while on a short-term deal with Chesterfield and finished the season looking for a new club.

His recent injury can be traced back to an operation he had at the age of 18 to remove some cartilage from his left knee - a procedure that left the joint almost bone on bone. The specialist has put the winger on a tailor-made programme to strengthen the area by building the muscle groups around the knee and he is confident he will soon be ready to return.

In July 2010, Whaley joined first club Bury on trial. Whaley also had a brief spell training in the summer of 2010 with Conference National team Fleetwood Town

In October 2010, it was reported that Whaley was re-training to become an electrician. The following month, after a week's trial, he signed for Doncaster Rovers on non-contract terms and was an unused substitute in the 3-2 win at Portsmouth on Saturday 13th November 2010. Whaley told the Sheffield Star: "My career has hit a bit of a stalemate at this moment in time. But thanks to the gaffer here (Sean O'Driscoll) deciding to take a look at me I've got another chance."It's up to me to prove myself between now and January. I've only been here for just over a week and I feel good. I wouldn't say that I'm 100% match fit, but that will only come when I've got some games under my belt."I can play on either flank or up front and hopefully I can do a job for the team

Whaley and fellow midfielder Robbie Clark had their contract with Doncaster terminated by mutual consent on 12th January 2011

Whaley joined Burton Albion on a short term deal on 4th March 2011. Brewers boss Paul Peschisolido said: "He's got an opportunity here to re-establish his career. He's a good player but he's been out for a little while now. I think he can really benefit us with the amount of games we've got left to play." Whaley made his debut as a substitute the following day in the 4-1 defeat to Crewe and was booked.

He made two further appearances for Burton before leaving, unhappy that he had been left on the bench against Gillingham

In July 2011, Whaley joined Plymouth on trial but signed for Northern League Chorley the following month