Paul David Simpson (born 26 July 1966) is an English former professional
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 ...
who is currently manager of
Carlisle United. He has been a coach and manager at several English clubs and was manager of the England team that won the FIFA Under-20s World Cup in South Korea in 2017.
Playing career
Manchester City
Simpson began his playing career as a schoolboy at
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
in the early 1980s. He made his senior debut aged 16, on 2 October 1982 in a 3–2 win against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
. However, after the club were relegated and new manager
Billy McNeill
William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish football player and manager. He had a long association with Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, manager and club ambassador. McNeill captained Celtic's 'Lisbon Lio ...
arrived, Simpson, along with
John Beresford, was briefly loaned out to Irish club
Finn Harps
Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...
to gain more experience. He scored 3 goals in 9 total appearances at
Finn Park
Finn Park ( ga, Páirc na Finne) is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats.
Facilities
The ground is in a relatively dilapidated condit ...
.
He returned during the final stages of
1984–85 campaign and enjoyed a run of games as he scored 6 times in just 10 appearances as City won promotion from the Second Division.
He was a regular member of the first team in the
1985–86 season and scored nine First Division goals as City survived their first season back in the top flight, although they were relegated a year later.
He won five caps for the
England under-21 team during his spell at
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
, adding to three caps at under-18 level. His U21 debut came on 26 March 1986 as a substitute against Denmark on his home ground. He also played in the 1987
Toulon Tournament
The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...
, during which he scored.
Oxford United
He left City, now back in the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, for
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
in October 1988 in a £200,000 deal, after making 155 appearances for them in total. He remained at Oxford for over four years – all spent in the second tier – before signing for
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in February 1992 for £500,000.
Derby County
The winger joined Derby in the midst of a promotion challenge but, despite finishing third, they lost in the play-offs to sixth-placed
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
. The club had three more successive failed promotion attempts (including losing the
1994 play-off final to rivals
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
) before they won automatic promotion in
1995–96. He was a first choice player throughout this period, and twice reached double figures in his goal return.
The influx of new players that followed the Rams' promotion to the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
saw his place under fire for the first time since he had joined. He managed 19 appearances (scoring twice, including Derby's first game back at the top level) during their return to the top flight, but also found himself out on loan at second-tier club
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
to gain more playing time.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
After failing to feature in the opening months of the Rams'
1997–98 season, he dropped down a division to join
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
initially on a month's loan in October 1997. After impressing with 2 goals in 8 starts, he signed a permanent deal for £75,000. His first season with the club also saw him almost appear in an
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...
, but they lost to eventual winners
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
.
His second season at
Molineux was less successful as he found himself out of the starting line-up in the opening games. He went on loan to nearby
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
of the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
for four months, but returned to Wolves first team when this loan expired. He scored Wolves' final goal of the season in a 3–2 defeat to
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
that meant they missed out on the play-offs.
Blackpool
After a second successive seventh-place finish in a season that saw Simpson feature only sparingly, he signed for
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
on a free transfer in August 2000. Here, he helped the club win promotion from the
Third Division via the play-offs in his first season but he left during his second, to join
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
in March 2002. Just before leaving the club he helped them win the
2001–02 Football League Trophy, playing as a substitute in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
Rochdale
He made nine appearances in the final games of the
2001–02 season for Dale, scoring 6 times. This goal rush helped push the club into the
play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, where they lost to
Rushden & Diamonds
Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ke ...
(despite another goal from Simpson).
Managerial career
Rochdale
After manager
John Hollins
John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...
departed from Rochdale in 2002, Simpson stepped in as player-manager. He began the season in equally bright goal-scoring form, but as the pressure of management took its toll and he enjoyed a largely unsuccessful season. Simpson left Rochdale after only season in charge where they reached the FA Cup fifth round, an equal club record, but finished 19th after a late turnaround by Macclesfield saw them drop from 13th in the final 10minutes of the season.
Carlisle United
Following his departure from Rochdale, Simpson moved back to his home town, where he became the manager of
Carlisle United. He also played for the club. Carlisle were relegated to the Conference in his first year at
Brunton Park
Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...
, at a time when the club was struggling financially. A transfer embargo prevented new players being brought in and by December Carlisle were 15 points adrift, and despite an improved latter half of the season, the club were eventually relegated. However, he immediately led Carlisle back to
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
in 2004–05 as
Conference National play-off winners. Following this, Simpson enjoyed perhaps his best season as a manager, leading Carlisle to double – promotion, winning promotion to
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
as
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
champions.
He was also named as the League Two Manager of the Year and in the
League Managers Association
The League Managers Association (LMA) is the trade union for Premier League, EFL and national team managers in English association football. The LMA awards the LMA Manager of the Year award annually.
History
The union was founded in 3045 as ...
statistics was the best manager in the country on points per game above
Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton.
Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...
.
Simpson played his final game as a professional player on 6 May 2006 at
Edgeley Park
Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for rugby league club Stockport RFC in 1891, by 1903, the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in.
Edgeley Park is an all-seater stadium hold ...
against
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
, the club he later managed, on a day where the two teams drew 0–0, meaning that Carlisle were promoted as champions. This marked the end of his playing career after 24 years.
Preston North End
In June 2006, following his success at Carlisle, Simpson left the club to replace
Billy Davies as manager of
Preston North End, where he led the Lancashire side to the top of the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
by December, their highest league placing for 55 years. However, after only being able to bring 3 free transfers in January they were unable to maintain this position and missed out on the play-offs by goal difference despite beating already promoted Birmingham on the last day. After losing key player
David Nugent
David James Nugent (born 2 May 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker and is currently a free agent after leaving Preston North End.
He started his career in 2002 when he signed his first professional contract with ...
, the team made a bad start to the 2007–08 season (including just three victories) resulting in Simpson being sacked on 13 November 2007.
Shrewsbury Town
On 12 March 2008, he was appointed manager of
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
, replacing
Gary Peters
Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representativ ...
who had left the club by mutual consent after a poor run of results. After helping them avoid relegation in his first season, Simpson then took them to the Play-off Final where they lost to a last minute
Gillingham goal. In the following campaign after an overall decent first half of the season, Shrewsbury were dealt six straight defeats in March and April, ultimately costing them a place in the play-offs. He was dismissed as manager on 30 April 2010.
Stockport County
Simpson was confirmed as the new manager of
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
on 12 July 2010 following a takeover by The 2015 Group. He replaced former manager
Gary Ablett, who was sacked by the club's new owners after the club spent the entire season in administration – with County gaining just 25 points from 46 games.
Simpson was charged with the task of staying in the division and rebuilding a squad which has been ravaged by administration, and ensuring the survival of the club in
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
in the coming season. He was instructed to work with
Peter Ward as his assistant manager, and former youth team manager
Alan Lord was put in charge of Youth Development. Both Ward and Lord were returning to County having previously worked there under former manager
Jim Gannon
James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland, but made most of his professional appear ...
between 2005 and 2009. Ward was also a former Stockport captain, playing for the club in the 1990s. Simpson also employed former coach Stuart Delaney as Youth Team Manager.
Simpson was sacked on 4 January 2011 after a run of just three wins in 19 games.
Northwich Victoria
Simpson was appointed manager of
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
side
Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
on 1 February 2012, with
Alan Wright
Alan Geoffrey Wright (born 28 September 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
He was a left back who has played over 750 league and cup games for eight clubs, including an eight-year spell in the Premier Le ...
as his assistant. However, he departed after only a month as he had been due to take up a role in Portugal at the end of the season. This was, however, brought forward to March, meaning Simpson left following the club's FA Trophy quarter-final match on 25 February. His assistant, Alan Wright, oversaw a match with
Rushall Olympic
Rushall Olympic Football Club is an English football club based in Rushall, a former mining village now forming part of the northern suburbs of Walsall. The team plays in the .
History Early years
Although football had been played in the villa ...
during Simpson's absence.
Derby County
In October 2013 Simpson joined Steve McClaren, as assistant manager. The team hit the ground running and went on an amazing run of results. In their first season they took the team to the Championship Play off final, losing to a late goal versus QPR. In the second season they again had a great start, in terms of results, and continued to enjoy success. In the December 2014 rumours started to circulate that McClaren was being headhunted by Newcastle United, in the Premier League. Many blamed these rumours on the teams results taking a dive, but there were other mitigating circumstances. The team missed out on the playoffs and McClaren was sacked at the end of the season. Simpson was sacked at the start of July, on the eve of pre season training under the newly appointed head coach, Paul Clement.
Newcastle United
On 3 July 2015, Simpson was appointed as one of Steve McClaren's assistant coaches along with
Ian Cathro
Ian Cathro (born 11 July 1986) is a Scottish football coach, who is a first team coach at Al-Ittihad. He was previously an assistant coach at Rio Ave, Valencia, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, and was briefly the head coach at Scottish P ...
, after leaving Derby County.
England U20
Simpson took charge of the
England Under 20 Squad in 2017 and won the
U20 World Cup in
Suwon, South Korea
Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
on 11 June 2017, beating Venezuela by the only goal of the game. Simpson left his post on 10 August 2020, to become assistant head coach to
Dean Holden
Dean Thomas John Holden (born 15 September 1979) is an English manager who is currently the manager of League One club Charlton Athletic.
During a career which began at Bolton Wanderers in 1998 and ended with a two-year stint at Walsall from 201 ...
at Bristol City.
Carlisle United
On 23 February 2022, Simpson returned to former club Carlisle United as manager until the end of the
2021–22 season. In similar circumstances to his first spell with the club, the Cumbrian side found themselves in the League Two relegation zone in 23rd position at the time of his appointment. Simpson turned the club's form around and after five wins from seven matches across the month of March, Simpson was nominated for the league's
Manager of the Month award, losing out to
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
'
Joey Barton
Joseph Anthony Barton (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made 269 appearances in the Premier League, including 130 for Manchester City. He is currently the man ...
, a team that Simpson's side had beaten at the end of the month. On 27 April 2022, having confirmed Carlisle's League Two status for the following season, Simpson signed a permanent three-year contract with the club.
Personal life
Simpson temporarily stepped down from his coaching role at Bristol City in July 2021 while receiving treatment for kidney cancer.
Paul's son,
Dom Simpson, is a professional actor currently playing the role of Elder Price in the Book of Morman at the Prince of Wales Theatre (London's West End). His son
Jake Simpson
Jacob David Simpson (born 27 October 1990) is a former English footballer who played for Shrewsbury Town in the Football League. Having played in the youth teams for Blackburn Rovers, he moved to Shrewsbury Town, where his father Paul was manag ...
is also a former professional, now head of performance at
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player
Manchester City
*
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
promotion:
1984–85
Derby County
*
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
runner-up:
1995–96
*
Anglo Italian Cup runner-up:
1992–93
Blackpool
*
Fourth Division play-off winner:
2000–01
*
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
:
2001–02
Carlisle United
*
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
:
2005–06
*
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
play-offs:
2004–05
Individual
*
PFA Football League Third Division Team of the Year:
2000–01
Manager
Carlisle United
*
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
:
2005–06
*
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
play-offs:
2004–05
England U20
*
FIFA U-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
Individual
*
League Two Manager of the Month: December 2005,
March 2006
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Paul
1966 births
Living people
Footballers from Carlisle, Cumbria
English footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Association football wingers
Manchester City F.C. players
Finn Harps F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Derby County F.C. players
Sheffield United F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Walsall F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
English Football League players
League of Ireland players
Premier League players
English football managers
Rochdale A.F.C. managers
Carlisle United F.C. managers
Preston North End F.C. managers
Shrewsbury Town F.C. managers
Stockport County F.C. managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Derby County F.C. non-playing staff
Association football player-managers