Fitzroy Simpson

Fitzroy Simpson (born 26 February 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left back from 1988 to 2008.

Fitzroy Simpson
Personal information
Full name Fitzroy Simpson[1]
Date of birth (1970-02-26) 26 February 1970
Place of birth Bradford-on-Avon, England
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Swindon Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1992 Swindon Town 105 (9)
1992–1995 Manchester City 72 (4)
1994 → Bristol City (loan) 4 (0)
1995–1999 Portsmouth 148 (10)
1999–2001 Heart of Midlothian 17 (0)
2001 → Walsall (loan) 10 (1)
2001–2003 Walsall 53 (3)
2003–2004 Telford United 31 (0)
2004–2005 Linfield 6 (0)
2005–2007 Havant & Waterlooville 31 (0)
2007–2008 Eastleigh 9 (0)
Total 486 (27)
National team
1997–2003 Jamaica[2] 43 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Simpson played in the Premier League for Manchester City, in the Scottish Premier League for Heart of Midlothian, in the Football League for Swindon Town, Bristol City, Portsmouth and Walsall, in the Irish Premier League for Linfield, and ended his career in non-league football with Telford United, Havant & Waterlooville and Eastleigh. He was born in England, and represented Jamaica internationally.

Club career

Simpson was born in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, joined the youth team at nearby Swindon Town in 1987, and signed a professional contract the next year. In his debut match he was sent off for punching an opponent. Before the 1992–93 season he was sold to Premier League club Manchester City for £500,000. After a couple of seasons he struggled to stay in the first eleven, went on loan to Bristol City and was finally transferred to Portsmouth, where he played until 1999.

Heart of Midlothian signed Simpson soon after the World Cup, but it was an unhappy move, and he was offered the chance to reignite his career under Ray Graydon at Walsall. Simpson helped to revive the club's season, helping them to reach the Football League Second Division play-off final, which they went on to win. However, Simpson missed this game after picking up an injury during the semi-final. He left Walsall in the summer of 2003.

In 2003–04 he played non-league football with Telford United. He then went to play for Linfield in Northern Ireland but was released in the end of June 2005, at 35 years old.

He then announced his intention to retire from football, moving to the Costa del Sol, taking a directorship in a property firm, but in the 2005–06 season he resumed his football career with Havant & Waterlooville. The experienced midfielder arrived at Eastleigh in October 2007 from Havant. He left the club at the end of the season and retired from football.[3]

International career

Simpson won 36 caps for Jamaica from 1997 to 2002 and scored 3 goals. He represented the 'Reggae Boyz' in all three group stage matches at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Simpson captained his final international match.

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
16 July 1997Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's Antigua and Barbuda1–02–01997 Caribbean Cup
29 February 1998Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States El Salvador1–02–01998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
32 July 2000Independence Park, Kingston Cuba1–11–1Friendly
Correct as of 8 March 2015[4]

References
  1. "Fitzroy Simpson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  2. "Fitzroy Simpson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  3. "Eastleigh player exodus gathers pace". 31 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  4. Fitzroy Simpson - International Appearances

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