English footballer (born 1987)
Daniel Peter Simpson
(born 4 January 1987) is an English professional
footballer
who plays as a
right-back
for
Northern Premier League
Premier Division club
Macclesfield
.
A product of the
Manchester United
academy, Simpson played on loan for
Royal Antwerp
,
Sunderland
,
Ipswich Town
,
Blackburn Rovers
and
Newcastle United
during his professional development. He then signed for Newcastle on a permanent basis in January 2010, before relocating to
Queens Park Rangers
on a free transfer in June 2013.
Simpson signed for
Leicester City
in 2014, then newly promoted to the
Premier League
. He was part of the Leicester squad that avoided relegation, in his first season, before winning the Premier League title in the
2015?16 season
. He left Leicester for
Huddersfield Town
in 2019, but was released a year later.
Career
[
edit
]
Manchester United
[
edit
]
Simpson was born in
Eccles
,
Greater Manchester
,
[2]
to a Jamaican father and English mother.
[4]
Simpson played for Parkwyddn JFC in
Eccles
as a youth before being picked up by
Manchester United
. He is a product of the
Manchester United youth system
, having come up through the ranks into the reserve squad in 2005.
In early January 2006, he was sent on loan, along with three other United youths, to the
Belgian Second Division
club
Royal Antwerp
for the remainder of the season, to gain match experience.
[5]
Simpson also spent the first half of the 2006?07 season at Antwerp before returning to United in January 2007.
[6]
On 25 January 2007, he joined
Sunderland
on loan for the rest of the season.
[7]
The loan move saw him link up with fellow Manchester United player
Jonny Evans
. He won the Championship title with Sunderland that season. Simpson returned to United at the start of the
2007?08 season
and signed a new contract in September 2007 that would keep him at the club until 2010.
[8]
He made his first competitive appearance for United on 26 September 2007 in the 2?0
League Cup
loss to
Coventry City
,
[9]
and soon after made his
Premier League
debut on 6 October 2007 against
Wigan Athletic
at
Old Trafford
, coming on as a 30th-minute
substitute
for the injured
John O'Shea
. He set up the fourth goal with a well flighted cross for
Wayne Rooney
. The match ended with a 4?0 win to United.
[10]
His European debut came on 23 October 2007, when he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for
Ryan Giggs
against
Dynamo Kyiv
.
[11]
His first European start was in the reverse fixture against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007; United won the game 4?0.
[12]
On 21 March 2008, Simpson signed a loan deal with
Ipswich Town
. With
Gary Neville
on the verge of returning to the Manchester United first team, United manager
Alex Ferguson
decided it was best for Simpson to get as much first team football as possible, something that would be quite hard to come by at Old Trafford with both Gary Neville and
Wes Brown
ahead of Simpson in the pecking order.
[13]
On 4 August 2008, Simpson signed for
Blackburn Rovers
on a season-long loan deal.
[14]
[15]
Simpson made his Blackburn debut on 27 August 2008, playing in Rovers' 4?1 win over
Grimsby Town
in the
League Cup
Second Round.
[16]
His Premier League debut for Blackburn Rovers came almost three weeks later, on 13 September 2008, in a 4?0 defeat at home to
Arsenal
.
[17]
With the exception of Blackburn's League Cup Fifth Round defeat by Manchester United, which he was forced to miss because of a clause in his loan agreement, Simpson was ever-present for Blackburn during their League Cup and FA Cup campaigns. He also played in 11 out of the 14 league matches for which he was eligible prior to Christmas 2008, although he was named on the bench for the other three. After Christmas, Simpson only played in one further league match, another 4?0 defeat to Arsenal,
[18]
and in early May 2009, with his first team opportunities limited at Blackburn, the loan agreement was terminated early and he returned to train with Manchester United.
[19]
Newcastle United
[
edit
]
On 14 August 2009, Simpson joined
Newcastle United
on loan until January 2010,
[20]
making his debut in a 1?0 victory over
Sheffield Wednesday
at St. James' Park. He scored his first goal for Newcastle against Peterborough United on 7 November 2009.
Following the completion of the loan deal, Newcastle made a bid to keep Simpson on a permanent basis. An undisclosed fee, reported as being in the region of £750,000,
[21]
was agreed between Newcastle and Manchester United and Simpson signed a three-and-a-half-year contract on 20 January 2010.
[22]
He played a solid part in Newcastle's promotion to the Premier League, winning his second Championship title in the process, while forming a right flank partnership with January signing
Wayne Routledge
. Towards the end of the season, he "played through the pain" with what he considered a small ankle injury. He only realised the full extent of the ankle injury at the end of the season, and he had an operation to correct it. He was out for three months, including the first month or so of Newcastle's season.
[23]
Simpson returned to action from his injury lay off, playing two reserve games in October. He made his first start of the new season in Newcastle's 2?1 victory over
West Ham United
, replacing
James Perch
at right back. Simpson kept his right-back spot with consistently strong performances, forming a strong partnership with
Joey Barton
on the right flank.
On 20 September 2011, Simpson scored a curler in Newcastle's 4?3 win over
Championship
side
Nottingham Forest
in the third round of the
League Cup
.
On 10 December 2011, Simpson started alongside
James Perch
at center back in place of the injured
Steven Taylor
and
Fabricio Coloccini
for Newcastle's 4?2 defeat at
Norwich City
. He had played at right back for the beginning of the season.
Queens Park Rangers
[
edit
]
After his contract with Newcastle expired at the end of the 2012?13 season, Simpson signed a three-year deal with Championship club
Queens Park Rangers
on 27 June 2013.
[24]
He scored his first goal for QPR in a
League Cup
tie against
Exeter City
on 6 August 2013.
[25]
He made 36 Championship appearances for QPR as they earned promotion via
the play-offs
.
[
citation needed
]
Leicester City
[
edit
]
On 30 August 2014 signed a three-year contract for fellow promoted team
Leicester City
for an undisclosed fee.
[26]
Simpson made his Leicester debut in a 2?0 defeat against
Crystal Palace
off the bench on 27 September 2014. However, he didn't make his second appearance for the club until 7 December against
Aston Villa
, as he often struggled to get into the side ahead of regular right back
Ritchie De Laet
. Simpson made 14 appearances overall for Leicester in the 2014?15 season.
[27]
In the
2015?16 season
, under the new management of
Claudio Ranieri
, De Laet was again preferred ahead of Simpson to begin with. However, following a 5?2 defeat by
Arsenal
, Ranieri changed his full backs bringing Simpson in for De Laet helping to shore up Leicester's defence, as Simpson was considered a much more defensive full-back than De Laet and "rarely ventured forward".
[28]
Leicester went on to win the
2015?16 Premier League
title, and Simpson earned a winner's medal with 30 league appearances.
[29]
He was released by Leicester at the end of the 2018?19 season.
[30]
In February and March 2021, Simpson began playing with the
Leicester City U23s
squad in order to regain match fitness.
[31]
Huddersfield Town
[
edit
]
After being released by Leicester, Simpson signed a deal until the end of the 2019?20 season with
EFL Championship
side
Huddersfield Town
.
[32]
Bristol City
[
edit
]
On 26 March 2021, Simpson joined
Bristol City
on a deal until the end of the season. The move reunited him with former Leicester manager
Nigel Pearson
.
[33]
On 23 June 2021, it was announced Simpson had signed a new 1-year contract extension with the club. This was brought to an end early on 7 March 2022, when Simpson's contract was cancelled by mutual consent.
[34]
As a free agent
[
edit
]
Simpson began making appearances as a TV pundit in 2022. Despite this, he confirmed in a December 2022 interview, whilst launching a campaign to better support players' mental health at the end of their careers, that he was not yet retired, and was still training in the hope of finding a new club.
[35]
As of May 2023, he was training with
Macclesfield
.
[36]
By October 2023, he had returned to Manchester United to study for his coaching badges whilst weighing up the next step in his career, alongside fellow ex-United player
Phil Jones
.
[37]
Macclesfield
[
edit
]
In December 2023, Simpson was signed by
Northern Premier League
Premier Division club
Macclesfield
, making his debut on 5 December in the
Cheshire Senior Cup
against
Tranmere Rovers
.
[38]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Simpson has two daughters, Skye who was born six weeks prematurely in mid-2011 and Vienna born in 2020.
[39]
[40]
On 20 May 2015, Simpson was found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend and mother of his child, Stephanie Ward, on 28 December 2014.
[41]
[42]
He was sentenced to 300 hours of community service.
[43]
On 12 May 2016, his sentence was reviewed in light of press intrusion into his community service, and replaced with a 22:00 to 06:00 curfew for 21 days.
[44]
Career statistics
[
edit
]
- As of match played 23 October 2021
[45]
Honours
[
edit
]
Sunderland
Newcastle United
Queens Park Rangers
Leicester City
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed"
. Premier League. 2 February 2018
. Retrieved
11 February
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010).
The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010?11
. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 379.
ISBN
978-1-84596-601-0
.
- ^
"Danny Simpson"
. Leicester City F.C
. Retrieved
22 December
2018
.
- ^
Limited, Jamaica Observer.
"JFF nets eight ? Beckford, McAnuff among recruits from UK trip"
.
Jamaica Observer
. Archived from
the original
on 11 September 2018
. Retrieved
16 December
2016
.
- ^
Marshall, Adam (7 January 2006).
"Another United loanee"
.
Sky Sports
. BSkyB
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
Bartram, Steve (18 August 2006).
"Youngsters join Antwerp"
. Manchester United. Archived from
the original
on 18 September 2012
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
"Sunderland sign Simpson on loan"
.
BBC Sport
. 25 January 2007
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
"Man Utd hand new deal to Simpson"
.
BBC Sport
. 5 September 2007
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
"Man Utd 0?2 Coventry"
.
BBC Sport
. 26 September 2007
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
Sinnott, John (6 October 2007).
"Man Utd 4?0 Wigan"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
6 October
2007
.
- ^
Chowdhury, Saj (23 October 2007).
"Dynamo Kiev 2?4 Man Utd"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
McNulty, Phil (7 November 2007).
"Man Utd 4?0 Dynamo Kiev"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
10 November
2008
.
- ^
Bostock, Adam (21 March 2008).
"Simpson out as Nev nears return"
. Manchester United. Archived from
the original
on 24 March 2008
. Retrieved
21 March
2008
.
- ^
Bartram, Steve (4 September 2008).
"Simmo joins Rovers on loan"
. Manchester United. Archived from
the original
on 14 October 2008
. Retrieved
4 September
2008
.
- ^
"Blackburn sign Man Utd's Simpson"
.
BBC Sport
. 4 August 2008
. Retrieved
4 August
2008
.
- ^
"Blackburn 4?1 Grimsby"
.
BBC Sport
. 27 August 2008
. Retrieved
28 August
2008
.
- ^
Lyon, Sam (13 September 2008).
"Blackburn 0?4 Arsenal"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
13 September
2008
.
- ^
Hughes, Ian (14 March 2009).
"Arsenal 4?0 Blackburn"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
28 April
2009
.
- ^
Burton, Chris (8 May 2009).
"Home form gives Sam hope"
.
Sky Sports
. BSkyB
. Retrieved
14 August
2009
.
- ^
"Simpson makes Magpies loan switch"
.
BBC Sport
. 14 August 2009
. Retrieved
14 August
2009
.
- ^
Jacob, Gary; Barrett, Tony; Caulkin, George (21 January 2010).
"Everton keen on loan move for Arsenal's Philippe Senderos"
.
The Times
. London
. Retrieved
21 January
2010
.
- ^
"Newcastle sign Manchester United defender Danny Simpson"
.
BBC Sport
. 20 January 2010
. Retrieved
21 January
2010
.
- ^
Mark Douglas (24 June 2010).
"Danny Simpson reveals his full injury blow"
. Chronicle Live
. Retrieved
23 June
2013
.
- ^
"Exclusive: Simpson Signs"
. Queens Park Rangers F.C. 27 June 2013
. Retrieved
28 June
2013
.
- ^
"Exeter 0?2 QPR"
.
BBC Sport
. 6 August 2013
. Retrieved
6 August
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"Danny Simpson joins Leicester City from QPR on three-year deal"
.
BBC Sport
. 30 August 2014
. Retrieved
21 May
2015
.
- ^
"Danny Simpson"
.
FoxesTalk ? History
. Archived from
the original
on 24 October 2016
. Retrieved
12 June
2016
.
- ^
Gill, JJ (30 April 2016).
"How Claudio Ranieri's tactics put his rivals to shame at Leicester City"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London
. Retrieved
12 June
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Danny Simpson: Overview"
. Premier League
. Retrieved
2 March
2023
.
- ^
"Leicester's Christian Fuchs signs new deal as Danny Simpson & Shinji Okazaki leave"
.
BBC Sport
. 8 May 2019
. Retrieved
9 May
2019
.
- ^
"Why title-winner Danny Simpson is playing for Leicester City again"
. Leicestershirelive.com. 9 February 2021
. Retrieved
8 March
2021
.
- ^
Ryder, Lee (27 September 2019).
"Transfer: Danny Simpson signs for Town"
. Huddersfield Town AFC.
- ^
"Danny Simpson: Bristol City sign ex-Leicester right-back until end of season"
.
BBC Sport
. 26 March 2021
. Retrieved
26 March
2021
.
- ^
"Danny Simpson: Bristol City cancel full-back's contract by mutual consent"
.
BBC Sport
. 7 March 2022
. Retrieved
7 March
2022
.
- ^
"Manchester United academy player won 'impossible' Premier League but is now facing an even bigger challenge"
.
Manchester Evening News
. 4 December 2022
. Retrieved
27 December
2022
.
- ^
"I was a Premier League title winner with Leicester ? now I'm scared of retiring and help elite athletes deal with 'real world' after sport"
.
talkSPORT
. 19 May 2023
. Retrieved
23 July
2023
.
- ^
"Why Danny Simpson has returned to Manchester United"
.
Manchester Evening News
. 6 October 2023
. Retrieved
4 November
2023
.
- ^
"Former Manchester United player Danny Simpson makes football return"
. Manchester Evening News. 6 December 2023
. Retrieved
20 December
2023
.
- ^
Ryder, Lee (3 August 2011).
"Danny Simpson reaching for Skye after birth"
.
Evening Chronicle
. Newcastle.
- ^
"The Challenge 's Melissa Reeves Welcomes Baby Girl: 'I Feel So Happy and Blessed'
"
. 9 June 2020.
- ^
"Danny Simpson convicted of assaulting ex-girlfriend"
.
BBC Sport
. 20 May 2015
. Retrieved
20 May
2015
.
- ^
"Danny Simpson convicted of assaulting ex-girlfriend"
.
BBC Sport
. Retrieved
8 September
2020
.
- ^
"Danny Simpson to face Leicester hearing after assault sentence"
.
BBC Sport
. 16 June 2015
. Retrieved
16 June
2015
.
- ^
"Leicester City's Danny Simpson spared community service due to press intrusion"
.
BBC Sport
. 12 May 2016.
- ^
Danny Simpson
at Soccerbase
External links
[
edit
]