Former Gunner Peter Simpson passed away this week. Jon Spurling remembers his time in red and white.
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In a team laden with players operating out of their original positions, the unassuming centre half Peter Simpson may have been the most adaptable of them all. Arsenal’s 1971 Double winning side contained a converted full back – midfielder Peter Storey; a midfielder – centre back and skipper Frank McLintock; and a striker – midfielder George Graham. But Simpson was the ultimate utility man.
After making his debut against Chelsea in a 4-2 defeat in March 1964, the Norfolk born defender played in a variety of positions before making the centre half berth his own by the end of the 1960s.
“I turned out as a full back and a midfielder if I needed to, and could play right and left half. I even played up front a couple of times. It was helpful for learning how to read the game,’ Simpson told me in our 1996 interview.
“I started out before the era of substitutes and grew up in a culture where if you weren’t in the first X1, you didn’t play. Simple as that. So I had to adapt”.
A talented all round sportsman in his youth, the laid-back Simpson told me that at heart, he was ‘a glass half empty kind of fella’ when we met up in his native Gorleston for a coffee.
“I always doubted my own ability. It took Bertie Mee and Frank McLintock hammering me to get me going. I was convinced I wasn’t going to make it at Arsenal. I had those same feelings when it came to playing for England.”
Imposter syndrome – as it’s termed now – nagged away at Simpson throughout his whole career. Despite many football insiders pushing for Simpson to be picked for his country, a full cap never materialised, although he was picked by England manager Alf Ramsey for several squads during the 1969-70 campaign. ‘
“If ‘Stan’ (team mates called him ‘Stan’ after the quieter half of the Laurel and Hardy double act) had believed in himself a bit more, and had a fraction more pace,” explained Frank McLintock, “he would have won 50 caps, because he was a natural ball playing defender, which was rare in those days”.
I met Simpson when he was still in his early 50s, and although he’d retired from the game fifteen years earlier, he looked remarkably fit and well. Five foot eleven, slim and with a neat beard, the tanned Simpson was a picture of health. “I’m lucky that I never put it on around here,” he said, patting his stomach. His vice was smoking. Just before Arsenal ran out for matches, manager Bertie Mee would instruct Frank McLintock to fetch ‘Stan’, who would invariably be puffing away in a cubicle.
“You’d here a ‘phsss’”, McLintock recalled. “That was Peter throwing his cigarette down the toilet. Then he was ready to go.” Midway through our interview, Simpson popped outside to smoke a thin cigar. “Never did kick the habit,” he told me.
The Gunners were arguably the most vocal team of the era. Bob McNab and McLintock were especially loud, cajoling and bossing each other around as they sought to hold the line during matches, and others joined in. On the pitch, Simpson gave McLintock as good as he got.
“Frank would shout: ‘You mark him.’ And I’d shout back: ‘You bloody do it. And we’d square up. But we became a great partnership.’
Simpson would also have his say during lively team meetings in the ‘halfway house’ – a room just off the Highbury tunnel, where the Arsenal players would unburden themselves after games, and deconstruct their collective performance.
“If you didn’t like hearing the hard truth, then Arsenal wasn’t for you,” Simpson said. He had enormous respect for Dave Sexton, the Gunners coach who left Highbury in 1967 to manage Chelsea. “He was always positive, and constructive. I liked the fact he’d talk to you quietly. I liked Don Howe (his replacement) too, but he was far more vocal. I responded better to Dave.”
Like the vast majority of the class of ’71, Simpson had been scarred by consecutive defeats at Wembley in the 1968 and 1969 League Cup Finals. “You can either give up, or fight on. We took the second option. You learn more from defeats than victories.”
His favourite spell in an Arsenal shirt came during the team’s Fairs Cup run in the 1969-70 season, during which he played in all the games. “The slower pace of European football suited my game, and I loved playing at night, under the lights. I’m a night owl really.”
Simpson reckoned he could still hear the cheers of jubilation ringing in his ears after Arsenal beat Anderlecht 3-1 at Highbury in the second leg to win the trophy. “It was brilliant – my best night in football by far.”
A leg injury meant that he missed the start of the 70-71 Double season, and although he slotted back into the team against Ipswich in late November, replacing John Roberts, he never felt he was the same player. Others, who watched his raking left footed passes set up attacks, or exchange short, accurate passes with midfielders, disagreed. Simpson, whose timing in the tackle was always spot on, was present and correct for the 1-0 win at White Hart Lane on a Monday night which won Arsenal the league, and quaffed the champagne which Tottenham manager Bill Nicholson delivered to the Gunners dressing room.
“A classy gesture which said everything about the sportsmanship of Bill Nick,” said Simpson. On the following Saturday, in boiling temperatures at Wembley, Arsenal won the FA Cup against Liverpool. “I was so knackered, I could barely get up the steps to collect my medal,” Simpson explained. “It was an amazing feat to accomplish with so many guys I came through the ranks with, like my best mate Geordie (Armstrong) and ‘Snouty’ ‘(Peter Storey).”
Throughout our interview, Simpson was for the most part mellow and calm, but it didn’t stop him being forthright either. His most difficult opponent? “Allan Clarke (Leeds United striker). A top player but very physical, like Leeds. He was their first line of defence.”
Biggest disappointment? “Don Howe leaving after we won the Double. It all began to fall apart after that. Bertie missed his tactical knowledge.”
Team mate who should have achieved more? “Eddie Kelly. His lifestyle and diet stopped him from being a top player.”
Best goal by a team mate? “Charlie George’s in the cup final. No backlift and he was knackered too. A bastard shot.”
Worst Arsenal signing in his era? “Jeff Blockley. Not at the level required.”
At the time Simpson left Arsenal in 1978, he was, with 477 appearances, fourth on the Gunners’ all time appearance list, behind George Armstrong, John Radford and Peter Storey. He’s still in a highly respectable tenth place, one position behind Radford.
“I got into football because I was good at it,’”he shrugged. “I’m not a great fan of watching it. Golf is really my sport.”
Although Simpson admitted he’d have liked to have pocketed what Arsenal’s ‘96 vintage earned, he didn’t envy them the increased publicity which the Premier League era brought.
“I’d hate to be in the spotlight like Ian Wright or Tony Adams. I wouldn’t want that kind of fuss. People know George (Graham) and Frank (Mclintock) and Bob (Wilson) from management and being on the tele, but I don’t like being recognised. I never did really.”
Ironically, two men in the café later checked with him whether or not he was really Peter Simpson who used to play for Arsenal. “I promise you that no one has done that round here for years,” he chuckled.
After a brief spell in the North American Soccer League, Simpson became a drayman with a brewery, and later retreated to Norfolk. “It’s a slower pace of life than in London. I prefer that”.
He always enjoyed the class of ’71 reunions though, and catching up with old teammates. “We were an amazing blend and have a unique bond. Not necessarily individually brilliant, but a wonderful team. And very under rated.”
Thanks for everything ‘Stan’ – perhaps the most under rated Double Gunner of all.