Dennis Ewart Simpson (1 November 1919 – 10 January 2002) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played on the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

, Reading, Exeter City in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Career

Simpson signed with

in May 1939 after being spotted playing for Saleem Baptist. He guested for

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

during the war, in 1946. After continuing his career at Highfield Road, he scored five goals in 67 Second Division games, as Coventry finished eighth in 1946–47, tenth in 1947–48, 16th in 1948–49, and 12th in 1949–50. Simpson was allowed to leave the club by manager Harry Storer, and moved on to Reading in May 1950. He helped the "Royals" to third in the Third Division South in 1950–51, before they moved up to second place in 1951–52 – just five points behind champions

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. Reading then dropped down the league after outgoing manager Ted Drake was replaced by Jack Smith, finishing 11th in 1952–53, eighth in 1953–54, and 18th in 1954–55. Simpsons scored 31 goals in 172 league goals during his time at Elm Park. He joined Third Division South club Exeter City in Ma1y 1955, remaining as a part-time professional as he worked as an engineer in

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

. He helped

Norman Dodgin Norman Dodgin (born 1 November 1921 in Gateshead - August 2000) was an English footballer who played between 1947 and 1955. His predominant position was at defence. Dodgin became a player-manager in 1953 while playing for Exeter City, until h ...

's "Grecians" to finish 16th in 1955–56 and 21st in 1956–57. He scored four goals in 30 league games during his brief spell at St James Park, but left the club in February 1957 after refusing to train on a full-time basis. He later ended his career at non-League Exmouth Town.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Dennis Footballers from Coventry English footballers Association football wingers Coventry City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. wartime guest players Reading F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Exmouth Town F.C. players English Football League players English engineers 1919 births 2002 deaths