As Toonsy wrote a week or so ago now, Simpson seemed to back track greatly from his original stance of “gimme more money” to someone who really wants to play for the club and it’s not about the money.
I feel I know football well enough now to know that football is pretty much just about the money these days and jealousy plays a major part of a footballers psyche. I don’t have the right to say one way or the other if Simpson is greedy because I don’t know him, but from the outside he has painted himself into a corner. Most fans now will be looking at him thinking, are you hear because you want to play for this club? And why shouldn’t they?
The stats say that Simpson is one of the best in the league and if these stats are used to assess a players performance then he should be in the England squad in Poland and Ukraine. However, what myself and many, many other NUFC fans see week upon week is how slow Simpson is. The games against Spurs, Wigan and Brighton are the three that really stick in my mind as games where he was turned at least once and could not recover. Okay so he has made some crucial goal line clearances but there has to be more to a player than that. I don’t think he possesses the ability going forward to be a top quality full back and I would much prefer to see Santon play there with Fergie at left back.
From a continuity point of view I would like to see Simpson retain his place in the squad/team because I don’t think chopping and changing is the way to do business BUT he is not good enough and clearly has ideas way above his station. How many other players have left NUFC in recent years with the promise of better things but have failed big style? Martins, Owen, Bassong, Beye, Geremi, Jose, Carroll, Jenas, N’Zogbia. The last one always makes me laugh, good old Charles “Arsenal want me” N’Somnia. Wally.
As a club I am so glad that NUFC is standing firm on this. To me it can only be respected by the winder football world and I think we are fast becoming a club that players know rewards good performers and only want the best. So if Simpson won’t talk terms that the club offer he’s a fool and we are better off without.
Enjoy QPR, Villa and the rest.
Billyquay Mag
Lets get some youth for the player.. 3 for one deal…..
Christer(Quote)
Billy, I wonder whether you would still think it was a good idea if it were one of our “star” players that the club were standing firm on ? 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Sick of people saying he’s not that good going forward. If you had Ben Arfa in fornt of you would you go bombing down the flank knowing a) hes going to cut inside and b) he can give away possession too cheaply.
Hes solid defensively, and I wouldnt say hes slow at all. Havent seen him been run over by anyone this season. We built a great start on being solid at the back and let the front 3 do their thing. Santon can play right back BUT he’s an ideal partner for Jonas IMO as we’d be far to exposed on the right if Santon and Ben Arfa were together.
Really hope he signs a new contract – even if we do sign another RB as we need cover. Other than the Arseanl game cant think of a time he’s made a mistak- get off his back.
shabillatoon(Quote)
Spot on Aussie – I’m getting a bit sick of all this Simpson bashing now like. When it was Colo stalling on his deal it was all ‘just pay the bloke what he wants’. I’m not saying Simmo is as vital to us as Colo but your arguement is basically make the offer and if he doesn’t like it then there’s the door. If that had of been the case with Colo he’d have left.
It’s not just about money, it’s about knowing your in the managers plans and knowing your wanted by the club and fans. It’s about finding that balance of earning a good wage and being happy where you work … Don’t believe me?
Alan Shearer is a perfect example. He could have left for Man Utd and won things and been paid alot more, but he was content at Newcastle.
Simpson has been a good servant to Newcastle regardless, and we shouldn’t turn on the kid, especially when we don’t know the facts.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Is it Simpson bashing to give an opinion on his performances going back over during his contract wrangle?
Stuff the stats, he has been playing like a **** for ages now and has even sworn on oath in court that he is leaving the club this summer.
Players come and go so why get all sentimental about someone who could be wearing a Sunderland shirt come August, its not as if he has been playing out of his skin for the fans and the club and apart from the famous ” Goal Line Clearances”, could someone tell me anything else he contributes to the team apart from putting the ball out for a throw?
Robert(Quote)
Personally I like Simpson and hope he stays.
Jill(Quote)
Think Simpson is a good player , yeah we prob could get a better player in but we could also get in a worse player just as easy. I would like him to stay and I hope they sort out his contract. He has put in 3 good seasons at the club imo.
Johno Toon(Quote)
Robert – I’m not getting sentimental and if he leaves I won’t shed too many tears. I agree that he isn’t the best RB in the league – that said I could understand his disappointment at Johnson and Wilson being picked ahead of him!!
If he stays he stays, if he goes he goes. All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t turn on the lad just because he can’t come to an agreement with DL/MA. Performance wise, ok he hasn’t been brilliant this season but it’s Pardew that picks him and he was part of a strong back 4 at the start of the season.
Sharpy17(Quote)
*Johnson and Wilson ahead of him for England I meant but I’m sure you worked that out 😕 *
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sorry billy this is a horrible article.
We have NO idea on what has been said behind the scenes so it is disgusting for you and other fans to turn on simmo based on paper talk.
He deserves more.money definitely. he signed with us in the champ and was this season the second best defender for a 5th placed team. (not saying he deserves the same as the big guns)
People need to get off the daft “fergie is better than simmo” boat. he hasnt even played left back this season! he hasn’t got in over an unproven santon, raylor or jonas. he is isn’t better than simmo.
If i were simmo i would leave. he is most likely going to lose his place over the next couple of years and gets minimal credit from a good chunk of our fans. he was playing alongside willo And hba! Imagine if he had Jonas and Colo next to him,he’d looking like a flippin world beater!
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Personally think defensively he is one of the most consistly decent in the league. In possession he is very panicky however…
I like him as a squad player but he certainly is replaceable if need be.
JJ(Quote)
Jj agree. to go to the next level we need a full back that can attack as will.
If you were simmo would you stay as a squad player? maybe that’s part of the reason behind the stall?
If simmo had got injured this year i doubt we wouldve seen much of hba. there’s no way pardew wouldve started him next to raylor/santon/fergie.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
I’m with JJ on this one.
As long as he’s wearing the B&W shirt though he has my backing. So **** if he’s trying to negotiate the deal best for him, it’s business; more to the point – his business, not ours. I hope he stays, but I also hope we sign another RB who’s at least as good as him, preferably better. Clyne or Debuchy would be good, as they’d give us another option going forward.
…end of the day, if Simpson leaves that’s his choice and most likely his (footballing) loss.
Rodzilla(Quote)
hes a steady fullback but if we want to improve on last season we must improve on what weve got. so its goodbye simmo and willo who just isnt a prem player
bazza(Quote)
Apparently all he wants is parity with others wages. So who does he mean – Colo, Saylor, Krul, Cisse? or is it Raylor, Willo, Best?
For me he’s just OK when on top form. Anything less and he’s poor. Think we can do much better while he can’t!
georgio(Quote)
Georgio – Santon is on 25k a week and Saylor is on 40k a week – if I was Simpson I would be expecting somewhere between them. I’d say 25-30k with bonuses for appearances/clean sheets/ assists and things like that. That would be fair IMO.
I don’t think Clyne is better than Simmo at the moment but is a great prospect and will be in a couple of seasons. Debuchy may also take a little while to settle in. I’d certainly take either of those 2 but would keep Simmo if possible as we will play almost twice as many games next season and he could defo do a job for us.
Sharpy17(Quote)
One defender has to be The worst in a team.. Lets keep The Foundation and put pen to paper
Danishtoon(Quote)
As I have said before Simpson is the fans’ Marmite player. He’s not mt favourite player by a long chalk but you can’t fault him for effort or commitment on the pitch.
Grouchp(Quote)
Interesting:
http://www.themag.co.uk/latest-issue/the-players-you-chose-that-newcastle-united-have-to-keep/
…poor old Simmo on 1% 🙁 …still, it looks like my first 11 from what we have. No room for our utility extraordinaires Raylor and Perchinio
Rodzilla(Quote)
Rod – that is interesting, Ba stood out for me but is it valuable in terms of pricetag or in terms of who we simply couldn’t loose.
Just looking at that and coming back to this article, I’m just wondering has Jonas contributed much more than Simpson to the team this season or will his place be under threat next season?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, I think I misunderstood their poll mate. It looks like they just put our first 11 up and that’s the order they came in. I said on the article that Ba’s low percentage was most probably down to the fact a lot of fans seem resigned to him leaving, plus there’s the knee thing and his potential value. I guess loads of different fans will have had differing reasons.
Regarding Jonas, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with him next season (assuming there aren’t many changes to our squad) as Marveuax should be getting back into the side, and from what little I’ve seen of him he has impressed me. He seems much more of an attacking threat but not as combative. We could see Jonas dropping into a full back role ❓ To be totally honest I wouldn’t mind that at all. In fact I’d quite like to see him at right back, just to confuse things even more. 😆
Rodzilla(Quote)
Hasn’t he played there for Argentina?
I think he would make a quite effective RB to be honest, we may have just solved it mate and could save the toon a couple of mill – MA will love us!! 😆 😆
I think I have just read the most ridiculous transfer rumour of the summer so far –
Rooney to PSG for £100m and Man Utd to take Cisse from us as a replacement!!
Where do these people get this rubbish from man????
Sharpy17(Quote)
😆 hahaha, yeah mate he has played there before.
…and yeah I saw that article yesterday on Rooney. I read 150m though 😯 😆 …you never know though. At least that’d be one less club for Ba to be linked to, mind you we’d lose Cisse in the process, bummer. 🙁
hahaha, silly season.
Rodzilla(Quote)
Everytime I see Brendan Rodgers I think of the bank robbers you used to see in The Sweeney with tights awa tha heeds. He just needs a shotgun and a cockney accent.
…reet, I’m off anyway. Laters………… 😎
Rodzilla(Quote)
How is he not good enough going forward? For much of the season he was statistically our best crosser, maybe that has changed but he’s still well up there and he’s better than Santon at crossing (although perhaps if santon was on the right he’d be better)
Obviously he doesn’t have the silky skills like Santon and Enrique,makes him a bit less effective and perhaps to the watching eye boring, but he does his job well and i’m still not sure where the hate comes from.
Slow? He’s probably one of our fastest players, him and Santon are pretty pacey.
Alright he’s not world class-if we were running for CL football we would definitely need better. But good enough for a stab at Europe and European competetion? Yeah I think so….
On to the crux of it, we’ve been here before with a number of players, I don’t see what makes Simmo more greedy than someone like Taylor for instance? Simmo has played a shitload more in a winning team than Taylor has as well, as isn’t he on some 50k…..
Newkie(Quote)
Danny Guthrie released? I’d of kept him young decent squad player 😕
hitman(Quote)
Peter Løvenkrands… released by Newcastle
hitman(Quote)
The list of players ‘released’ doesn’t automatically mean they’ve been released, it just mean they’re out of contract
I Love Mike(Quote)
Lovenkrands and Guthrie rarely let us down when we called on them, Fantastic in the championship and both have played there part in helping us find our feet in the big league again.
Best of luck to both of them, Same with Kadar **** knows where it went wrong for him he looked decent enough every time he played for us…
CC(Quote)
Hitman , I think Guthrie wanted to leave for first team football , Cant argue with that. Good luck to the lad.
Johno Toon(Quote)
Agreed Johno. He can be a class footballer at times and did really well last season when Tiote was out. The club probably want to keep him but I can understand at his age that he wants first team stuff. Don’t know where he’ll end up but he may find the SJP grass much greener than anywhere else!
georgio(Quote)
Newkie – I don’t think anyone hates Simpson and he does have some good qualities. Unfortunately that’s not either tactically or with the ball. Him and Willo were definitely our weakest players last season.
Oh dear . . . I’d forgotten Best and Obertan!
georgio(Quote)
Is their anyone else just bored senseless with no football? I know euro’s just around the corner but Im bored off my face. Not even with Ireland been in the Euro’s makes up for it. Roll on the 18th of June ( I think ) for the fixtures been released and can start looking forward to the season.
Johno Toon(Quote)
JT ime with you,ive even started doing the washing up “and” drying,mind could be because wor lass is away 🙂
icedog(Quote)
JT @ 33, yes, completely agree…hell, we don’t even have official transfer news to discuss either. Football’s been over 2 weeks now and the market doesn’t open for another 30 days? Ug…this feels like it’s going to be a really long summer…weird. I am sure it was the same last year, but for some reason this one feels worse.
And the Euro’s…well, not much in it for us Yanks. But, I suppose there’ll be some fun watching France and as a mutt, I’ve got interest in England, Germany and Poland, so I have at least some excuse to watch and root for a team, but it’s not quite the same as club football.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
There would be 5 players from the ‘released’ lot that I’d be interested in there like:
Kalou – Chelsea
Pogrebnyak – Fulham
Rodellaga – Wigan
Diame – Wigan
Guthrie – The Toon
I understand Guthrie left for more regular football but I think we could have offered him that this season. The rest on my list may not be first teamers but would improve our squad I think.
Sharpy17(Quote)
NORCAL you must have had a high with the USA knocking five in the net the other day is that the kilnsman touch like lol
icedog(Quote)
Really wish we could keep Guthrie. I really like watching that kid play…tough and driven. Too bad.
As for Simpson, I am a fan of his…not gonna get his jersey mind you, but in my opinion, from the many games that I’ve watched, he’s put in a lot of good stints. I see no reason he should be paid on par with Santon at the bare minimum, if not perhaps Raylor.
I’d be curious to see what he earned per minute of playtime vs. some of the others on the team. The dude played every game but the last two, correct?
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
Ice…that’s just wrong man. 😆
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
oops…@ 38, “see no reason he **shouldn’t** be paid on par…”
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
Simmo has done alright and always seems commited to the club imo. Hope he’s gonna stay as feel with extra games we will need him as there are bound to be injuries and ample chances to play on a regular basis. But the fact is we need some top notch defenders through the door ,next season will be our toughest test yet what with Europa on the menu. You can bet your life that Chelsea ,Liverpool and teams like Everton and Fulham will be more successfull next season and with the right manager Villa may improve as may the Scum for that matter. Wish we could of kept Guthrie as he was great when Tiote was away ,I think he’s a big loss.Anyway good luck to the lad .
kimtoon(Quote)
Norcal- I used to always root for England as my #2 but just can’t do it anymore considering I hate 3/4s of the squad. I hope they either start getting a Newcastle presence or at least put this golden generation out to pasture so I can support them again.
As for simmo, I hope he stays, even if he doesn’t remain a full time starter. I think we can improve at RB but he is a solid player who puts a shift in and can be relied on defensively. That being said I can understand the club not wanting to go overboad on wages. Both sides need to meet in the middle on this one.
MDS(Quote)
MDS, I hear you on England. I have to say England use to be above Germany and Poland…but I think now they’re below Poland for me. I am in the same boat…would like to see a lot of new faces and would be nice to see some Newcastle players lining up for the 3 Lions for a change.
Interesting trivia question: When was the last time a Newcastle Player lined up for the 3 Lions in a non-friendly? I don’t know. Worthy of a shirt perhaps.
Speaking of Trivia…when do we find out the winner of the trivia contest, or did I miss that? Who won? No shirt showed up on my doorstep, so I am assuming it wasn’t me.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
Personally I think Simmo’s done a decent job, however he can prob tie a regular spot down at villa for more cash whereas at toon it’s more likely he’ll always have the fans on his back and be paid less – easy decision really – he’s clearly not one of our gave players even tho he’s put a decent stint in almost every game – he must be gutted to see perch getting a song from the terraces for turning up for a few games
Stevep(Quote)
Billy sorry to say it but I think your dislike of the guy has clouded your whole veiw on the situation.
Yeah he has had a few shocking games but sure Captain Colo has went missing so should we get shoot of him ? same as Cabaye, Ba and most of the other players.
Simple fact is without Simmo’s goal line clearances we wouldn’t be in Europe next season, yeah I know thats part of his job, I wonder howmany times Colo, Willo and Santon cleared the line ? after all that is their job.
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave
I think it’s more a case of his positioning and decision making that get people annoyed. Yes he’s cleared it off the line but so has a number of our defenders. He has been ok in our defence but is often making poor tackles in situations where they needn’t have been made, and he has even mucked up his goal line clearances a couple of times, on one occasion he was in Kruls way and we ended up conceding because of it. He is a good player and I’d rather have him than Clyne, but I don’t think he’ll be better than Debauchy and do think if the opportunity arises to sign Matheui than Danny will be on his way.
Andymag(Quote)
ANDY @46-Why can’t we have both 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
I think its more to do with the fact he cant tackle.
He is good at blocking the ball, or intercepting it etc, but one on one, he gets skinned time and time again.
Back off, back off, skinned. Often resulting in a cross or shot.
Also he has been caught out up field a few times and is slow to get back again.
Anyhow, the balls in his court. He has been offered an improved contract by the board, just not as much as he/his agent thinks he is worth.
Cant see the club changing the offer, going by previous form on these things. You get one offer, take it or leave it.
At the end of the day, we all know he isn’t a top right back, but is probably a good enough squad player to keep for player rotation.
I still reckon he will sign on before xmas, as I cant see him getting a better offer elsewhere.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
He is not slow at all, he is an athlete and he is really fast. I think he was even clocked as our fastest player in one game. It is in the brain where he is slow and he is not a natural defender so gets turned easily by attacking players. I think this is why he backs off so much, in fear of being passed. If this is the case he is not good enough. A defender needs to be able to put their foot in and he won’t/can’t. Really I think he is one of those players that they put at right back because he was probably tried in midfield as a winger or a striker and he was just no good. But the problem is he isn’t a defender either!
DJG(Quote)
shabillatoon June 1, 2012 at 10:20
‘Sick of people saying he’s not that good going forward. If you had Ben Arfa in fornt of you would you go bombing down the flank knowing a) hes going to cut inside and b) he can give away possession too cheaply.’
Okay, well what about the times he had, Obertan, Jonas, Guthrie or Barton infront of him? Players that can switch (some actually quite defensive and not attacking at all) He was just as ***** going forward then!
DJG(Quote)
Not a lover of either of the two Danny’s. Simpson is a player of limited ability. Guthrie before this season I had written off but must say he gave a much improved performance. Unfortnuately he cannot play the Tiote role because he cannot tackle and is not in the same class as Cabbaye. He needs to be playing more often and we need someone better so a move suits best parties
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Toby le Rhone June 1, 2012 at 22:17
‘Guthrie before this season I had written off’
Don’t agree with you there. In the championship season he was assisting/ scoring goals, and spraying the ball round the park like one of the best in the league.
DJG(Quote)
I remember one home game against Barnsley where Guthrie absolutely murdered them, I wanted someone to throw a towel on the pitch coz they were getting slaughtered. 😳
DJG(Quote)
DJG
You believe what you want. I have mates who are Guthrie and fans and nobody divides opinion more than Simpson. I believe in this transfer window we can find better than both. Evolution is the name of the game
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
TLR
“I have mates who are Guthrie” 😯 What are they like then? 😆
DJG
The championship season was two seasons ago, he was pretty **** in our return PL season. Agree he was mint in the championship though.
andymag(Quote)
I reckon Guthrie will go and be the next Murphy at Fulham, or be a starter at Reading ect. Guthrie had a few poor games for whatever reason and lost confidence in our return to the prem seasons but he is still a good player. I think he just expected a little extra time on the ball that you don’t get in the prem and lost possession / miss placed passes. I still think he will come good with regular gametime somewhere though. People forget he has not had a decent run of games and expect him to come in and instantly be a big hit. Ben Arfa needed 3-4 games just to get fitness up.
DJG(Quote)
sick of hear/reading about Simpson to be honest… as with all these things that drag on and on, I don’t care either way now… next 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Get up the wrang side of the bed? must be the pom blood in you 😆
I hope he stays, but can’t see it…time will tell.
richietoon(Quote)
[log in] Transfer speculation [log out] 😕 [cries] Bring back the football.
brisvegas(Quote)
Rich, you can insult me as much as you want mate but you have crossed the line there.. pom blood… 👿
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Chelsea have signed Hulk for around 38m apparently… The rest of the Avengers won’t be happy 😆
Crazy money….
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Hi Aussi, always good news when the richer clubs buy big players who aren’t ours.
premandup(Quote)
Aussie…ya’ve got a bit of pom blood in you and you know it, the whinging gives it away….admitting it’s your first step 😆
richietoon(Quote)
Rodgers confirmed as Liverpool Manager as well…good luck with that one sunshine….. 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Rich,
My teeth are too straight and white for me to be a pom 😆 😆
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Aussie…crazier than £35 for AC? 😉
That Avengers film is a reet con, not a sign of Steed, Purdey or Gambit to be had 👿
richietoon(Quote)
Prem, agree totally mate…. at least it takes the heat of our better players.. now it’s only Spurs left in the race for Ba 😯 😀
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Aussie…Sinking a bit low with the old sterotypes, I know exactly how Aussie teeth are, I’ve seen Mad Max you know 😉
richietoon(Quote)
That ends the Ba to chelsea talk then just that corrupt twitchy ***** to shake off the scent now…
CC(Quote)
True about the Carroll coin Rich… but Andy was a proven PL striker though 😯 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Aussie…At least Uefa has the likes of Chelsea running scared with the old FFP rules 🙄 🙄
richietoon(Quote)
FIFA are a joke and everyone knows it…. will they have the balls to ban Chelsea or the like from any competitions for breaches… I don’t think so..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Aussie….nope, if they ever ban a club it’ll be some Eastern European team that nobodies ever heard of. I always find it a little ironic when a corrupt organisation tries to make the game “fair” 🙄
richietoon(Quote)
Rich, they are making a third Mad Max apparently.. it is to star one of your boys Tom Hardy (hes got the pommy teeth happening 😆 )
They were going to film it a while back but the deserts had too much rain and they didn’t look dry enough..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Never heard of Tom Hardy…..and there’s already been 3 Mad Max films 😉
richietoon(Quote)