Fitzroy Simpson

Fitzroy Simpson
Personal information
Full name	Fitzroy Simpson
Date of birth	26 February 1970 (age 54)
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
1988–1992	Swindon Town
1992–1995	Manchester City
1994	→ Bristol City (loan)
1995–1999	Portsmouth
1999–2001	Heart of Midlothian
2001	→ Walsall (loan)
2001–2003	Walsall
2003–2004	Telford United
2004–2005	Linfield
2005–2007	Havant & Waterlooville
2007–2008	Eastleigh
Total
International career
1997–2003	Jamaica
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 July 1997	Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's	Antigua and Barbuda	1–0	2–0	1997 Caribbean Cup
2	9 February 1998	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	El Salvador	1–0	2–0	1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3	2 July 2000	Independence Park, Kingston	Cuba	1–1	1–1	Friendly
Correct as of 8 March 2015^[4]

References

^ "Fitzroy Simpson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
^ Fitzroy Simpson at National-Football-Teams.com
^ "Eastleigh player exodus gathers pace". 31 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
^ Fitzroy Simpson - International Appearances

External links

Fitzroy Simpson at Soccerbase

[1] "Fitzroy Simpson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 April 2017.

[2] Fitzroy Simpson at National-Football-Teams.com

[3] "Eastleigh player exodus gathers pace". 31 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2014.

[4] Fitzroy Simpson - International Appearances

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