View source for Fitzroy Simpson

{{Short description|Footballer (born 1970)}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Fitzroy Simpson
| image =
| fullname = Fitzroy Simpson<ref>{{Hugman|18023|accessdate=22 April 2017}}</ref>
| height = 1.71 m
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|2|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bradford-on-Avon]], England
| currentclub =
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]]
| years1 = 1988–1992
| years2 = 1992–1995
| years3 = 1994
| years4 = 1995–1999
| years5 = 1999–2001
| years6 = 2001
| years7 = 2001–2003
| years8 = 2003–2004
| years9 = 2004–2005
| years10 = 2005–2007
| years11 = 2007–2008
| clubs1 = [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]]
| clubs2 = [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]
| clubs3 = → [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]] (loan)
| clubs4 = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
| clubs5 = [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Heart of Midlothian]]
| clubs6 = → [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]] (loan)
| clubs7 = [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]]
| clubs8 = [[Telford United F.C.|Telford United]]
| clubs9 = [[Linfield F.C.|Linfield]]
| clubs10 = [[Havant & Waterlooville F.C.|Havant & Waterlooville]]
| clubs11 = [[Eastleigh F.C.|Eastleigh]]
| caps1 = 105
| caps2 = 72
| caps3 = 4
| caps4 = 148
| caps5 = 17
| caps6 = 10
| caps7 = 53
| caps8 = 31
| caps9 = 6
| caps10 = 31
| caps11 = 9
| goals1 = 9
| goals2 = 4
| goals3 = 0
| goals4 = 10
| goals5 = 0
| goals6 = 1
| goals7 = 3
| goals8 = 0
| goals9 = 0
| goals10 = 0
| goals11 = 0
| totalcaps = 486
| totalgoals = 27
| nationalyears1 = 1997–2003
| nationalteam1 = [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]]<ref>{{NFT player|id=15982}}</ref>
| nationalcaps1 = 43
| nationalgoals1 = 3
}}

'''Fitzroy Simpson''' (born 26 February 1970) is a former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[midfielder]] and [[Defender (association football)#Full back|left back]] from 1988 to 2008.

Simpson played in the [[Premier League]] for [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]], in the [[Scottish Premier League]] for [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Heart of Midlothian]], in the [[English Football League|Football League]] for [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]], [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]], [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] and [[Walsall F.C.|Walsall]], in the [[NIFL Premiership|Irish Premier League]] for [[Linfield F.C.|Linfield]], and ended his career in [[non-league football]] with [[Telford United F.C.|Telford United]], [[Havant & Waterlooville F.C.|Havant & Waterlooville]] and [[Eastleigh F.C.|Eastleigh]]. Born in England, he represented [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica internationally]].

==Club career==
Simpson was born in [[Bradford-on-Avon]], [[Wiltshire]], joined the youth team at nearby [[Swindon Town F.C.|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 [[FA Premier League 1992-93|1992–93 season]] he was sold to [[Premier League]] club [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] for £500,000. After a couple of seasons he struggled to stay in the first eleven, went on loan to [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]] and was finally transferred to [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]], where he played until 1999.

[[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|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 F.C.|Walsall]]. Simpson helped to revive the club's season, helping them to reach the [[Football League Second Division]] [[2001 Football League Second Division play-off Final|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 in English football|2003–04]] he played [[non-league football]] with [[Telford United F.C.|Telford United]]. He then went to play for [[Linfield F.C.|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 F.C.|Havant & Waterlooville]]. He arrived at [[Eastleigh F.C.|Eastleigh]] in October 2007 from Havant. He left the club at the end of the season and retired from football.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/2309731.Eastleigh_player_exodus_gathers_pace/ | title=Eastleigh player exodus gathers pace | date=2008-05-31 | access-date=2014-04-16}}</ref>

==International career==
Simpson won 43 caps for [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]] from 1997 to 2003 and scored 3 goals. He represented the 'Reggae Boyz' in all three [[1998 FIFA World Cup Group H|group stage]] matches at the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]. 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.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Fitzroy Simpson<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/ja-simpson-intl.html Fitzroy Simpson – International Appearances]</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| style="text-align:center"|1 || 6 July 1997 || [[Antigua Recreation Ground]], [[St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda|St. John's]], Antigua and Barbuda || {{fb|ATG}} || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || [[1997 Caribbean Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|2 || 9 February 1998 || [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]], [[Los Angeles]], United States || {{fb|SLV}} || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || [[1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|3 || 2 July 2000 || [[Independence Park (Jamaica)|Independence Park]], [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], Jamaica || {{fb|CUB}} || style="text-align:center"|1–1 || style="text-align:center"|1–1 || Friendly
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Soccerbase}}

{{Jamaica Squad 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}
{{Jamaica Squad 1998 World Cup}}

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