Danny Simpson has spent his career learning from the brightest minds in English football. Now, four weeks into a new life in Dubai, the former Manchester United academy graduate is trying to turn those lessons into a coaching philosophy of his own.
From Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford to Claudio Ranieri and Craig Shakespeare at Leicester City, Simpson has worked under managers who shaped his ideas about standards and leadership. At 39, he is at the beginning of his own coaching journey, with Arabian Falcons as his launchpad.
“It feels like yesterday,” Simpson says of his move to Dubai. “But it's four weeks this weekend. It's just flew, which means I'm having a good time. It's probably the best thing I've done in a while, moving here.”
Simpson, a Manchester United academy graduate who made his Premier League debut at Old Trafford in 2007, later won promotion to the top-flight with Sunderland, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers before playing 30 league games in the season that turned English football upside down when Leicester defied all odds to win the Premier League under Ranieri.
After retiring in 2024, Simpson began working towards his coaching badges and has now joined Arabian Falcons as player-coach alongside former Newcastle teammate Jonjo Shelvey, who is preparing for his first full season in charge of the UAE Second Division side.
The move, Simpson says, was two years in the making. “I got my Emirates ID a few years ago and I was looking at stuff, but I was waiting for the right opportunity to take the leap of leaving England. It took me two years.”
There was one condition. “I didn't want to come here without anything to do. I wanted a routine, some work," he adds.
The right opportunity finally presented itself when Simpson was playing with Shelvey over the summer in North America. “We bonded over football, and how we see the game. We've still got that hunger and passion. Then he called me in England and said if I'd like to come and help, he'd love to have me here.”
Simpson's role is hybrid, with one foot on either side of the touchline.
“I’m part of the staff and I train with the players. When you're on the grass with them you understand their game, how they react to certain things, because you're in the middle of it rather than on the sideline. And I feel fit; I feel good. I can still run around with these 20-year-olds. I’ve got them texting me all the time.”
His experience will be crucial in realising Arabian Falcons' ambitions. Shelvey took charge for the final five games of last season and mounted a late promotion push. This time, their aim is to get over the line. “When I spoke to Jonjo and the staff and the people upstairs, the owners, it was basically: get promoted. Anything else is a failure.
“We're coming here to work, raise the standards and get promoted. And that's what I'm telling the lads every day. It doesn't just mean on the pitch. It could be timekeeping. These are things I learnt from Sir Alex Ferguson and the players I played with. Standards off the pitch make standards on the pitch good.”
The legendary Scottish coach remains his reference point, although not primarily because of tactics. “The greatest manager ever, for me, is Sir Alex Ferguson,” Simpson says. “He knew everybody. He knew what your favourite food was. I know that sounds stupid, but he got to know everybody on a human level. He knew when to play certain people, when to take them out of the team, when to put an arm around them, when to shout at them.”
At Leicester, Italian tactician Ranieri took a different approach, Simpson said, focussing on enhancing his skills.
“Italians love defending, and I love to defend,” Simpson says. "He tweaked my game and made me think, 'Oh, that makes sense.' I'd been playing football for 10 years and he was teaching me something new. And when there was pressure, he'd have a joke, take the stress off.”
Yet when Simpson talks about the coach he wants to become, he invokes the late Shakespeare — Ranieri’s assistant during that title-winning season — who died in 2024. Simpson's memories of Shakespeare emphasise how much he values the human side of coaching.
“When I was having a tough time, what he did every day at the training ground was work with me and keep my energy up,” Simpson said. “He made you feel just as important as the players who were playing, and that's what helps you get back into the team. It's such an important role, and it gets overlooked. So that's just something that I resonate with and I feel like I'll be good at.
“We've got players from all over the world. Sometimes they've left their families; they're here alone. It's important you look after them and they feel they can come and talk to you.”
Simpson has his B licence, an intermediate coaching qualification that typically bridges grassroots coaching and advanced professional management. Watching Shelvey complete his A licence has lit the fire of ambition. “I want to learn, I want to develop, I want to grow.”
Simpson moved to Dubai smack in the middle of summer, something he admits he struggled with.
“Last game, I couldn’t breathe. I’m from Manchester; it rains, it’s cold. Every day I’m learning something new and that’s what makes football so good.”
It’s hard to overlook Simpson’s many tattoos, but none catch the eye quite like the numbers 02/05/2016 emblazoned on his knuckles. That was the night Leicester City were confirmed as champions of England. “Since being 10 years old, you dream of being a footballer. But I never really dreamt of lifting the Premier League. That was the day my dreams came true,” Simpson says.
His favourite memory was when the squad gathered at his teammate Jamie Vardy's house. “Chelsea were 2-0 down to Tottenham and it was like, 'Oh, we've not won it.' Then it finished 2-2. Being in that house with all the lads you've worked with for years, even now, thinking about it, it's special.”
Almost a decade later, the group remains in contact. “Riyad [Mahrez], Vardy, Wes [Morgan] – we all still chat. Imagine going through that together, and the bond you get.”
From the past to the present day, Simpson believes the standard of football in the UAE will only get better.
“I hope I can make Dubai home and settle,” he says. “I really do believe the football here is going to get better, and if I'm part of that over the next three, four, five years, that's my plan.”
