Fitzroy Simpson (born 26 February 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

from 1988 to 2008. Simpson played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for Manchester City, in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

for Heart of Midlothian, in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for Swindon Town, Bristol City,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, in the Irish Premier League for Linfield, and ended his career in non-league football with Telford United, Havant & Waterlooville and Eastleigh. Born in England, he represented Jamaica internationally.

Club career

Simpson was born in

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restauran ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, 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

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

, 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

. Simpson helped to revive the club's season, helping them to reach the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

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. He arrived at Eastleigh in October 2007 from Havant. He left the club at the end of the season and retired from football.

International career

Simpson won 43 caps for

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

from 1997 to 2003 and scored 3 goals. He represented the 'Reggae Boyz' in all three group stage matches at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

. Simpson captained his final international match.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Simpson goal.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Fitzroy 1970 births Living people Jamaican men's footballers 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Swindon Town F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Telford United F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Premier League players English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Jamaica men's international footballers Scottish Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Eastleigh F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople from Bradford-on-Avon Footballers from Wiltshire 20th-century Jamaican sportsmen NIFL Premiership players