Danny Simpson

For the Brookside character named Danny Simpson, see List of Brookside characters.

Danny Simpson

Personal information
Full name	Daniel Peter Simpson
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Right back
Team information
Current team	Blackburn Rovers (on loan from Manchester United)
Number	22

Daniel Peter "Danny" Simpson (born 4 January 1987 in Salford, Greater Manchester) is an English football player who plays right back for Blackburn Rovers, on loan from Manchester United. A product of the Manchester United academy, Simpson has also played for Sunderland and Ipswich Town in England and Royal Antwerp in Belgium.

Career

Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Simpson played for Parkwyddn A.F.C. 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.

Simpson made his debut against South African team Kaizer Chiefs on 18 July 2006, which the Reds won 1–0. Manager Alex Ferguson claimed that Simpson looked "anything but a player making his first start for Manchester United". Simpson spent the first half of the 2006–07 season back on loan at Royal Antwerp and returned to Manchester United in January 2007. Soon afterwards, he joined his team mate, Jonny Evans, on loan at Sunderland.

Simpson signed a new contract with Manchester United in September 2007 that would keep him at the club until 2010. He made his first competitive appearance for United on 26 September 2007 in the 2–0 Carling Cup loss to Coventry City, 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. His European debut came on 23 October 2007, when he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Ryan Giggs against Dynamo Kyiv. His first European start was in the reverse fixture against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007. United won the game 4–0.

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.

On 4 August 2008, Simpson signed for Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan deal. Simpson made his Blackburn debut on 27 August 2008, playing in Rovers' 4–1 win over Grimsby Town in the Carling Cup Second Round. 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.

External links

• Danny Simpson player profile at itfc.co.uk
• Profile at ManUtd.com
• Danny Simpson player profile at rafc.be (in Flemish)
• Daniel Simpson at Soccerbase