Danny Simpson Interview

[StanSP]

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In public Danny Simpson kept his emotions in check but once alone he could not help the tears from falling. He had just played his last game for Leicester, on the final day against Chelsea, and as he bade farewell to staff and surroundings the memories ran through his mind.

'It was very emotional,' he says now, two months on. 'Inside I was welling up but I don't really like to cry in front of people. Then privately... It was more when I was leaving the dressing room, leaving the stadium, saying my goodbyes.'

Moving on is a fact of football, a necessary transaction, yet the bond Simpson feels for Leicester, after five years there, has a special quality. It was the place where miracles were made, the place where mourning took place.

Simpson will address those twin events of pride and pain in due course but first, as he settles into an outside booth at Piccolino restaurant in Hale, he talks about his future. 

 

Simpson is still a free agent and as the summer rumbles on he is weighing up potential destinations. At 32, with a Premier League winners medal in his possession, he is determined to find a good club. Celtic are interested and there are a number of options in England.

I'd love to go back to the King Power to play against the lads,' he says. 'But at the same time I wouldn't rule out anything abroad, in terms of a new experience.'

Simpson has already gone abroad this summer to keep his fitness up. He spent time in Dubai with K3 Performance, training alongside the likes of Daniel James and Josh King, and has this week been in Greece with Mykonos Performance, another centre for elite athletes looking to maintain sharpness. 

'Getting away is good for your mind, and you're working in the heat,' Simpson says. 'It is making sure I'm ready for day one with the new team. I've been doing lots of fitness and strength work, a lot of hill running.'

 

He adds: 'It was a bit unusual seeing all the Leicester boys back in on the first of July. They are like family. I was FaceTiming them while they were in Evian and the fitness coaches sent me sessions to do. I'm still close to them.'

Strong relationships are forged when shared experiences have been as seismic as those at Leicester. There was the great escape, the 5,000-1 title triumph, an improbable Champions League run, and then disaster.

 

At that dreadful moment last October when the helicopter carrying Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others crashed outside the King Power, Simpson was with a group at the team hotel. 

'It just didn't seem real,' he reflects. 'The news filtered through but we still believed it wasn't anything to do with him. It was devastating. He was like everyone's dad, one of the most generous, kindest people I've met.

'Even through the odd incident early in my Leicester career he always supported me. He believed good people could go through tough times. Some owners might wash their hands. That wasn't Vichai.'

It isn't his son Aiyawatt, known as Top, either. Cloaked in grief, Top has emerged to steer the club on in a manner becoming of his father. That included taking the team on a post-season trip to Monaco. 

 

'It was a few days to spend together bonding,' Simpson says. 'Top understood from his dad how important that is. I had a few good chats with him.

'It's a completely different kind of headspace, people come out of their shell. I'll never forget the day a few years ago Shinji from nowhere grabbed the mic and was dancing and singing on stage. It was a Japanese song, so we just clapped!'

That was shortly after Okazaki joined Leicester, at the start of the glorious 2015-16 campaign. Top has aspirations to take the club back there and to that end in February he made the call to dismiss Claude Puel and appoint Brendan Rodgers. 

'I don't need to say too much, because what you've seen on the pitch with the same players has shown it was probably the right thing to do,' Simpson says. 'I'm pretty sure this season will show that even more.

 

'Brendan is the perfect fit for Leicester. He has high demands for time-keeping and the way you conduct yourself. He thinks if something creeps into that it can creep into a Saturday afternoon.'

Simpson believes with Rodgers enjoying a full pre-season and new signings in the building Leicester can gatecrash Europe again. 

'I know those players and I know the manager – I think they'll be disappointed if they don't get top six,' he says. 'As Leicester have proved before, anything is possible.'

Simpson came through Manchester United's academy but it was at Leicester where he won the Premier League. He was instrumental in establishing a miserly defence, making 30 appearances that campaign. 

 

'Sometimes you forget,' he says laughing. 'You're going about your day-to-day life, and people remind you. The longer it goes on the more we'll realise how big an achievement it was.

'At the time we were living in that bubble. We felt like nobody could beat us. Everyone was in sync.'

Simpson thanks Claudio Ranieri for teaching him 'a lot defensively and tactically' and he has a pragmatic take on where things unravelled for the Italian. 

'You go through such a spectacular thing and overnight things change,' he says. 'Pre-season we were in LA and new players were coming in. But are they the players that fit what we'd just built?

 

'We were going from Saturday-Saturday games to flying to Copenhagen, Bruges, Seville. I spoke to Ryan Giggs and he said when United first started playing in Europe it took them a few years to get used to the routine. Teams would play differently against us too. There were a lot of factors and unfortunately they changed the manager.'

The manner of Ranieri's departure prompted Jamie Carragher to offer a particularly stinging review. He accused Leicester players of downing tools and later jokingly equated Simpson to a snake. Simpson gave as good as he got, reminding Carragher he had never won the Premier League, and the pair can laugh now.

'I've met him a number of times since and it's all good,' says Simpson, who at the time held talks over an appearance on Monday Night Football. 'One day we'll go back there and I'll take my medal – don't worry about that!'

 

Long-term, punditry does appeal. 'The TV channels know that is something I'd like to do in the future,' he says. 'I speak to Jermaine Jenas and he's always said if I ever need to shadow him then I can.'

First he wants to extract the most from his playing career and as his summer has shown he is ready for action. He last played on May 12, when Rodgers sent him on for the final 14 minutes against Chelsea.

'I don't think many players get to experience a reception like that,' Simpson says of the standing ovation.

The competitive edge was still there though. 'It was funny, on the touchline I saw Eden Hazard warming up. He was going on the left wing. I came on five minutes after him at right back… and thankfully I didn't make a mistake!' 

 

 

[TheSomersetFox]

Warrior. Got a lot of time for Simmo and he bloody loved it here too. Top man 

[M0901]

Forever a legend of this football club. Thank you, Danny ?

[lifted*fox]

Some people will always bang on about his past but he's been a proper professional here and I think he's probably grown a lot as a person. 

 

Everyone deserves a second chance, imo. Simpson properly took his and made the most of it. 

[FoyleFox]

50 minutes ago, lifted*fox said:

Some people will always bang on about his past but he's been a proper professional here and I think he's probably grown a lot as a person. 

 

Everyone deserves a second chance, imo. Simpson properly took his and made the most of it. 

He acknowledges that in the interview and credited Vichai for his guidance. 

 

Made mistakes, learned from them and was a great asset to our club, which obviously also meant a lot to him. Modern attacking full back, no but a bloody good defender. 

 

Wish him all the best for the future. 

[AKCJ]

8 hours ago, lifted*fox said:

Some people will always bang on about his past but he's been a proper professional here and I think he's probably grown a lot as a person. 

 

Everyone deserves a second chance, imo. Simpson properly took his and made the most of it. 

Exactly.

 

Simmo isn't the man we signed.

[Dan]

What a brilliant signing he turned out to be. He really got us.

[Lovejoy]

Given his struggles and the fact he was an unfancied backup, I've got so much time for what he became in our backline. Been said before but his defence of the backpost is probably the best I've seen in a fullback and he was arguably our most consistent defender through 15/16 and 16/17.

 

From what I've seen, he'll do well in the media, speaks well and looks comfortable on camera. Not sure shadowing Jenas will do him any favours though.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Sums us up as a club from when we got promoted until when we got knocked out the CL. Punched above his weight, not blessed with tremendous skill but more than made up for it with heart and work ethic. Forever immortal. 

[SecretPro]

Always been a fan. Solid defender, decent bloke these days too. Gave his all, and clearly a loyal, hard working player. Top draw.

[mancunianfox]

Tremendous player for us. Like Albrighton he is a player that when he hangs them up at the end of his career he will be able to say that he got 100% out of his potential. I hope that he catches on with a decent club and continues playing for a good few years yet. Football is a difficult road for the majority of players and he is a great example for young lads in the academies that there is a way back. 

[Bluearmyfox28]

Simmo will always be welcomed back to our club with open arms for me. True professional n I hope he feels he’s left the club feeling like a legend with his head held high.

[Fox1970]

He's one of the Immortals. 

A key part of the most famous LCFC team ever.

 

I wonder who will be the last of the Immortals to leave the club.  Vardy? Schmeichel? Albrighton? Morgan?

[wattolcfc]

He was the best right back in the league that year. He just didn’t get the credit because he didn’t go forward but he was all about doing his job - defending. Good luck Danny! 

[Out Foxed]

Swear I’ve never seen anyone refer t him as Simmo till this last week. If Vichai was prepared to forgive then I suppose I am too. 

[holyfox]

Gutted to read that his trial at Celtic has been cancelled as they’ve just bought a right back.

He is so focused and working hard to stay sharp, I really hope he gets to play at the highest level for another season or two at least.

always gives 100% and as many have said, his last minute back post covering saves us so many times in the 15/16 season. Good luck Danny, hope you get a good club.

[The whole world smiles]

What's his agent playing out how has he not got a good club yet. Solid right back with loads left to offer a bottom 5 prem side or a ambitious championship club.

[OntarioFox]

A promoted club like Sheff Utd ought to gerrimin. He's still a more than competent Premier League fullback.

[urban fox]

The guy is a free agent. surely there must be a whole host of clubs out there that he would do a great job for.  The only thing I can think is that they are put off by thinking that he would want huge wages?

[FoyleFox]

14 hours ago, The whole world smiles said:

What's his agent playing out how has he not got a good club yet. Solid right back with loads left to offer a bottom 5 prem side or a ambitious championship club.

He did suggest in an interview with Sky that there were potential offers but he was looking for a club of the right fit. Anywhere is going to be disappointing after playing for us. 

 

Admittedly I'm very surprised he's not been signed up already. 

[mazarron fox]

When the dusts of time settle and we will all enjoy the memories and footage from that season we will all see that it was a real team / squad a footballing band of brothers that did the impossible. Thank you one and all everyone legends