Danny Simpson readily admits it. The defender has had a point to prove from the moment he chose to drop down a division, from when he swapped life in the Premier League at Newcastle United for a promotion scrap in the Championship with Queens Park Rangers.
And now, after 48 league matches (two of them in the play-off semi-finals), it has come down to this; to the Wembley showpiece that offers the biggest financial prize in world football.
The Championship play-off against Derby County on Saturday stands to be worth at least £80m to QPR if they win, according to Deloitte and, with the club’s most recent accounts revealing net debts of £177m, it is fair to say that they could do with the money.
To Simpson, though, the narrative is all about redemption, to climbing back to the level that he might have thought would always be his as he rose through the ranks at Manchester United.
His Premier League debut came in United’s 4-0 home win over Wigan Athletic in October 2007, when Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez were on the scoresheet and he even appeared for the club in the Champions League that season. He has Francesco Totti’s shirt as a souvenir from the 90 minutes that he played at Roma in the 1-1 group phase draw.
It was not easy for him to leave United, and not only because they were the team that he supported as a boy in Salford but the free transfer from Newcastle to QPR last June also involved plenty of soul-searching.
“Dropping down the league to QPR – as soon as I made that decision, I had a point to prove straight away,” the 27-year-old says. “I think there were people who wondered why I did it. But with the group of players we’ve got here – I worked with Joey Barton before [at Newcastle] and the rest of the lads are top players. It was a chance to work with Harry [Redknapp] and get QPR back into the Premier League. That’s still a possibility so hopefully it can prove to be the right decision.”
Simpson moved to Newcastle from Old Trafford in August 2009, initially on loan, with the deal being made permanent in January 2010. He would make 137 appearances for the Magpies. But he heard in the summer of 2012 that they wanted to sign a new right-back – Mathieu Debuchy from Lille – and he held off on renewing his own contract which, at the time, had one year to run. Debuchy would arrive at St James’ Park in January 2013.
“Obviously, things go on behind the scenes in football,” Simpson says. “They wanted to sign Debuchy. I knew about it. There was no secret. I got on well with the manager [Alan Pardew] and the chairman [Mike Ashley]. They offered me a contract but with the rumours of signing Debuchy – I didn’t want to go from playing week in, week out to being a squad player.
“So we sort of just shook hands at the start of the season that I left and said that was the decision. I said: “I’ll give it my best for you this season and we’ll part ways.’ I was at a Newcastle game the other week. I still get on with everyone. It’s just one of those things in football. You shake hands and move on.”
Simpson has been to Wembley before, with United for a Community Shield, although he was not a part of the matchday squad. This time is rather different. There will be no charity, merely tension and do-or-die imperatives.
“It’ll be good nerves, I like the nerves,” Simpson says. “It makes me focus. I don’t like being too relaxed. The outcome and what you get from winning is bigger than a normal game but you’ve got to forget about that. I’m sure we will. It’s still 90 minutes against Derby, or 120 minutes. We’ve just got to play the game.”
Redknapp could include another former United youngster – the midfielder Ravel Morrison, who joined QPR on loan from West Ham United in February. Simpson knows Morrison from the Old Trafford days and he knew at first sight that he had the world at his feet.
“For me, Ravel could have still been playing at United now in the first-team, with the likes of [Adnan] Januzaj,” Simpson says. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to be an England player in the future – as long as he’s focused. He’s got the ability.
“Leaving United is tough because you’re at the Carrington training ground and you have all these facilities, all this stuff available to you. When you finally leave, you realise that other clubs ain’t Man United. But for me, and obviously for Ravel, sometimes you do have to go on your own path.”
Simpson describes Morrison as “a little joker, which surprises a few people,” who has integrated well at QPR. He added, with a smile, that Morrison had given him yet another incentive to win at Wembley.
“I’ve got the video of Ravel’s initiation song at the club on my phone,” Simpson says. “All of the players have to get up singing on their first away trip and he didn’t mind. He was up singing with Will Keane [the January loan signing from United]. I think it was R Kelly’s I believe I can fly. If we win – if he scores, I’ll post it on the internet.”
