Jump to content

Danny Simpson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Brookside character, see Sean Smith (Brookside). For the footballer of the early 20th century, see Danny Simpson (early footballer).

Danny Simpson
Simpson in 2024.
Personal information
Full name Daniel Peter Simpson[1]
Date of birth (1987-01-04) 4 January 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth Eccles, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)[3]
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
2003–2006 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Manchester United 3 (0)
2006 → Royal Antwerp (loan) 30 (1)
2007 → Sunderland (loan) 14 (0)
2008 → Ipswich Town (loan) 8 (0)
2008–2009 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 12 (0)
2009–2010 → Newcastle United (loan) 20 (1)
2010–2013 Newcastle United 103 (0)
2013–2014 Queens Park Rangers 37 (0)
2014–2019 Leicester City 113 (0)
2019–2020 Huddersfield Town 24 (0)
2021–2022 Bristol City 7 (0)
2023–2024 Macclesfield 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:18, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

Daniel Peter Simpson (born 4 January 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He started his career at Manchester United in the Premier League, later loaned for Royal Antwerp, Sunderland, Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United during his professional development.

He signed for Newcastle on a permanent basis in January 2010, before relocating to Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer in June 2013. He 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. He then joined Bristol City where he made 7 appearances for the club between 2021-2022, after this he joined Macclesfield where he didn't make a single appearance, retiring after that.

He had an exhibition boxing match in August 2024 against Danny Aarons at the 3Arena. The bout ended in a split draw.

Football career

[edit]

Manchester United

[edit]
Simpson pictured during his time at Manchester United in 2009.

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]
Simpson playing for Newcastle United in 2009

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]
Simpson and his daughter celebrating Leicester's title win on 7 May 2016

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]

On 26 July 2024, Simpson announced his retirement from professional football.[39]

Boxing career

[edit]

Simpson vs Aarons

[edit]
Main article: Danny Aarons vs Danny Simpson

On 7 August 2024, it was announced that Simpson would partake in an exhibition boxing match headlining MF & DAZN: X Series 17 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland against English YouTuber and streamer Danny Aarons.[40] During the leadup to the bout, Simpson and Aarons agreed that the winner will receive either Simpson's 2015–16 Premier League title winner’s medal or Aarons' YouTube Creator Award.[41]

The bout ended in a split draw, with one judge scoring it 39–37 to Simpson, 39–37 to Aarons and 38–38.[42] Both men indicated they were interested in a rematch following the announcement of the result.[43]

Personal life

[edit]

Simpson has two daughters, Skye who was born six weeks prematurely in mid-2011 and Vienna born in 2020.[44][45]

On 20 May 2015, Simpson was found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend and mother of his child, Stephanie Ward, on 28 December 2014.[46][47] He was sentenced to 300 hours of community service.[48] 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.[49]

Career statistics

[edit]
Simpson warming up for Ipswich Town in 2008
As of match played 23 October 2021[50]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2005–06 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2006–07 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Premier League 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 8 0
2008–09 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 8 0
Royal Antwerp (loan) 2005–06 Belgian Second Division 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
2006–07 Belgian Second Division 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 1
Total 30 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 1
Sunderland (loan) 2006–07 Championship 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Ipswich Town (loan) 2007–08 Championship 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2008–09 Premier League 12 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 20 0
Newcastle United (loan) 2009–10 Championship 20 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 22 1
Newcastle United 2009–10 Championship 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
2010–11 Premier League 30 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 0
2011–12 Premier League 35 0 2 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 40 1
2012–13 Premier League 19 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 26 0
Total 123 1 4 0 4 1 7 0 0 0 138 2
Queens Park Rangers 2013–14 Championship 36 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 42 1
2014–15 Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 37 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 3 0 44 1
Leicester City 2014–15 Premier League 14 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2015–16 Premier League 30 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 32 0
2016–17 Premier League 35 0 2 0 1 0 6 0 1 0 45 0
2017–18 Premier League 28 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
2018–19 Premier League 6 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Total 113 0 9 0 4 0 6 0 1 0 133 0
Leicester City U23 2018–19 — — — — — 1 0 1 0
Huddersfield Town 2019–20 Championship 24 0 1 0 0 0 — — 25 0
Bristol City 2020–21 Championship 4 0 0 0 0 0 — — 4 0
2021–22 Championship 3 0 0 0 1 0 — — 4 0
Total 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Career total 371 2 21 0 15 2 16 0 5 0 428 4
  1. ^ Includes appearances in the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Football League play-offs

Boxing record

[edit]
1 fight 0 wins 0 losses
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Draw 0–0–1 Danny Aarons SD 4 31 Aug 2024 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland 2 minute rounds.

Pay-per-view bouts

[edit]
United Kingdom
No. Date Fight Billing Network Buys Revenue Source(s)
1 31 August 2024 Aarons vs Simpson — DAZN TBA TBA TBA

Honours

[edit]

Sunderland

Newcastle United

Queens Park Rangers

Leicester City

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Danny 'Aarons' Simpson". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. ^ 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. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Marshall, Adam (7 January 2006). "Another United loanee". Sky Sports. BSkyB. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  6. ^ Bartram, Steve (18 August 2006). "Youngsters join Antwerp". Manchester United. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  7. ^ "Sunderland sign Simpson on loan". BBC Sport. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  8. ^ "Man Utd hand new deal to Simpson". BBC Sport. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Man Utd 0–2 Coventry". BBC Sport. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  10. ^ Sinnott, John (6 October 2007). "Man Utd 4–0 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  11. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (23 October 2007). "Dynamo Kiev 2–4 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  12. ^ McNulty, Phil (7 November 2007). "Man Utd 4–0 Dynamo Kiev". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Bartram, Steve (4 September 2008). "Simmo joins Rovers on loan". Manchester United. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  15. ^ "Blackburn sign Man Utd's Simpson". BBC Sport. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  16. ^ "Blackburn 4–1 Grimsby". BBC Sport. 27 August 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  17. ^ Lyon, Sam (13 September 2008). "Blackburn 0–4 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  18. ^ Hughes, Ian (14 March 2009). "Arsenal 4–0 Blackburn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
  19. ^ Burton, Chris (8 May 2009). "Home form gives Sam hope". Sky Sports. BSkyB. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  20. ^ "Simpson makes Magpies loan switch". BBC Sport. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  21. ^ Jacob, Gary; Barrett, Tony; Caulkin, George (21 January 2010). "Everton keen on loan move for Arsenal's Philippe Senderos". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  22. ^ "Newcastle sign Manchester United defender Danny Simpson". BBC Sport. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  23. ^ Mark Douglas (24 June 2010). "Danny Simpson reveals his full injury blow". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  24. ^ "Exclusive: Simpson Signs". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  25. ^ "Exeter 0–2 QPR". BBC Sport. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  26. ^ a b "Danny Simpson joins Leicester City from QPR on three-year deal". BBC Sport. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  27. ^ "Danny Simpson". FoxesTalk – History. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ a b "Danny Simpson: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Leicester's Christian Fuchs signs new deal as Danny Simpson & Shinji Okazaki leave". BBC Sport. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Why title-winner Danny Simpson is playing for Leicester City again". Leicestershirelive.com. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  32. ^ Ryder, Lee (27 September 2019). "Transfer: Danny Simpson signs for Town". Huddersfield Town AFC.
  33. ^ "Danny Simpson: Bristol City sign ex-Leicester right-back until end of season". BBC Sport. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Danny Simpson: Bristol City cancel full-back's contract by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  35. ^ "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.
  36. ^ "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.
  37. ^ "Why Danny Simpson has returned to Manchester United". Manchester Evening News. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  38. ^ "Former Manchester United player Danny Simpson makes football return". Manchester Evening News. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  39. ^ Harris, John (14 June 2017), "The football star", The English Premier League, Routledge, pp. 97–111, ISBN 978-1-315-63669-6, retrieved 27 July 2024
  40. ^ George, Glinski (7 August 2024). "Former Manchester United and Leicester footballer to make boxing debut on KSI Misfits card". talkSport.
  41. ^ Ellis, Jordan (30 August 2024). "Danny Simpson will lose his Premier League winner's medal if boxing debut goes wrong". talkSport.
  42. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (31 August 2024). "Misfits Boxing 17 results: Danny Aarons battles Premier League champion Danny Simpson to draw". MMA Fighting.
  43. ^ Schuller, Rudi (31 August 2024). "Danny Aarons and Danny Simpson fight to a draw". DAZN.
  44. ^ Ryder, Lee (3 August 2011). "Danny Simpson reaching for Skye after birth". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle.
  45. ^ "The Challenge 's Melissa Reeves Welcomes Baby Girl: 'I Feel So Happy and Blessed'". 9 June 2020.
  46. ^ "Danny Simpson convicted of assaulting ex-girlfriend". BBC Sport. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  47. ^ "Danny Simpson convicted of assaulting ex-girlfriend". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  48. ^ "Danny Simpson to face Leicester hearing after assault sentence". BBC Sport. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  49. ^ "Leicester City's Danny Simpson spared community service due to press intrusion". BBC Sport. 12 May 2016.
  50. ^ Danny Simpson at Soccerbase
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Danny Simpson.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danny_Simpson&oldid=1254418166"