[2] Charnley played for a number of clubs, including Ayr United, Clydebank,[3] Hamilton Accies, Partick Thistle, St Mirren, Bolton (on loan), Djurgårdens IF, Dumbarton, Dundee,[4] Hibernian[5] and Cork City.
Charnley acquired his nickname in his youth when he would sell poultry door-to-door in the Possilpark district of northern Glasgow, where he was brought up as a supporter of Celtic.
He initially left Partick for St Mirren in June 1991 in a swap deal that saw he and David Elliot exchange for Mark McWalter and George Shaw.
Despite suffering a stab wound to his hand when one of the boys brandished a Samurai sword, Charnley was able to disable his attacker with a punch.
[12][13] By this stage Alex McLeish had already replaced Jim Duffy as manager at Hibernian, and had dropped Charnley from the side.
Chic returned to Firhill during the 2006/2007 pre-season for ex-teammate Kenny Arthur's testimonial match versus a Celtic XI.