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Simpson seething after fans’ abuse
Monday 29th March 2010, 1:00PM BST.
Under-fire boss Paul Simpson has hit out at the “diabolical” reaction of sections of Shrewsbury Town’s supporteres as the club’s worst run of the season continues.
Town’s nightmare March came to an horrendous end on Saturday when they were beaten 2-0 at the Prostar Stadium by League Two’s basement boys Darlington, who won only their fifth game of the season.
It means Shrewsbury have lost four successive times – all without scoring a goal – and have now slipped five points off the play-off pace with eight games remaining.
And Simpson was far from happy with the reaction from some supporters.
“I think it’s absolutely diabolical when our home supporters are singing what they were and it doesn’t help anybody,” said the Town boss.
“I find it embarrassing that sane human beings can come in with that sort of mentality – but this is the football game we live in.
“It’s not pleasant (facing that) when you are trying to do your job to the best of your ability.
“I’m not the first to be booed by his own supporters and I’m quite sure I won’t be the last.
“In football, you have to have a thick skin.
“I’ve learned – especially over recent years with the way, not just football, but society has changed – there is no respect for anyone in our country at the moment. You just have to deal with it.”
Simpson admitted he felt let down by his players as the run of poor performances continued.
“This is a group of players who have got good ability and I do feel let down by them,” he said.
“It’s easy as a footballer because you hide behind the abuse a manager gets.
“I know the preparation has been right for them, we try to do everything we possibly can as a football club for them.”
Simpson, however, is refusing to throw in the towel on Shrewsbury’s play-off chances.
“On the performance we have had over the last three or four games it’s probably fair to say we won’t have a chance,” he added.
“But four games ago we won at home against Bournemouth and everybody said things were good.
“We have now gone four games through March where we have been rubbish, but we are still in with a shout.
“There are games to play where if we go about it properly we will get points out of it. But the time for talking has stopped now and it’s time for action.”
By JAMES GARRISON
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There are 5000 people who were in the stadium on Saturday who were ‘seething’ at the abysmal display by Shrewsbury Town in losing to yet another basement team. People are getting fed up with paying hard cash to see such poor displays, week after week. Paul Simpson, The Directors and some key players frequently use these press columns to create a ‘new dawn’ that they will turn over a new leaf in the next game. Players who are well over the hill or just not up to the standard needed to compete in a not very strong league have been brought in to no effect brought but all Paul Simpson seems capable of is blaming everyone else for his own obvious inability to manage the team. If I was him I would be keeping my head down and not alienating the few supporters he has left. Managing means more than picking a team Mr. Simpson, it also means strategies and tactics and the ability to have a plan b if plan a isn’t working on the pitch. We have a better youth team than first team.
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i wasnt at the game or even know what football is but my god they were poor.
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I think mr Simpson should not be under fire but the board should be for not backing the manager this season, after losing his best players last summer,Simpson has only been given £80,000 to spend ,you cannot expect to go up only spending this amount.Simpson is a good manager if only the board would of backed him.
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Im a big Paul simpon fan, but I think he has got this one wrong. From where I was sat, all I heard was “simmo,sort it out” and “not fit to wear the shirt” !!. Neither are what id call diabolical.. Was there something else sung I missed ??
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Rather than blaming everyone but himself, perhaps it’s time Simpson looks into why the fans were so ‘diabolical’ on Saturday, namely why a Shrewsbury squad that is by no means bad were played off the park by team rooted to the foot of the league, that had won just once away all season.
Personally I am angrier with Simpson for having the nerve to criticise the supporters in this way rather than the match itself. It’s something we were told riled fans at other clubs he managed, and it seems we are now getting the same treatment. It’s also a little galling that the day after the match he appears as a pundit on Sky Sports rather than taking action to deal with the recent run of form. OK this was doubtless arranged before Saturday, but nonetheless it paints a very poor picture of the manager.
Whether Simpson should go or not is open to debate, but it can’t be argued that Simpson has lost large swathes of the Shrewsbury Town support after the weekend’s debacle, and if the board decide to persist with him, he’s going to have to work very hard to get them back.
Perhaps I’m a little biased as someone who was sorry to see Gary Peters go, but Peters was far more dignified in his manner when his teams produced poor displays, many said he used to alienate the fans, but I think Simpson has made a much better job of it over the weekend.
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Simmo,
you may not have noticed BUT you lost to the team bottom of the league 2 – 0 at home.
Doesn’t sit very pretty on your CV does it?
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its time for a change if the manager can not get the team to play then that says it all.
what a waste of money. its free to watch a pub team on sunday far more fun to watch
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Great interview Paul: Blame players, blame fans, blame captain (who did’nt even play), blame society as a whole and then back to blaming the players………..MOST PEOPLE BALME YOU! RESIGN!
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Shut up Simpson, we pay your wages. If I slated the people who pay my wages I’d be sacked.
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That’s right, Simmo!
Blame everyone else but you, if the players are so much to blame, then you should have had them in for extra training yesterday morning, rather than swanning down to London, to be the “expert?” pundit on Sky!
I think we all know where your priorities lie, not with the club eh?
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Simpson says “There is no respect for anyone in this country”, well he certainly gives us two examples of this, slams the supporters, and not for the first time blames the players in public. When he arrived we were warned by supporters of his previous clubs this is just what would happen, respect is earned Mr Simpson, earn it and show it to other people and you may well find both the players and the supporters are more on your side than they appear to be at the moment.
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come and join my Simpson Out! facebook appeal.
If I can get 1000 members, I will give it to the shrewsbury town board as a petition for Simpson to leave!
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hi
i am a preston supporter and a rummers spreading around us lot that simmo will be pne,s new manager this summer. for gods sake lads please dont sack him.
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It was very disappointing to read Paul Simpson’s post match comments, specifically those aimed at the five thousand fans that had to endure the utterly woeful performance on Saturday (including me).
The club is very fortunate to retain a regular fan base, (recording one of the highest gate attendances in the division) during this bleak economic climate. It is therefore difficult to comprehend why the manager should be allowed to continue to criticise the supporters for their comments every time his team fails to turn up.
Perhaps someone dealing with public relations at the club should advise Mr Simpson to carefully reflect on the fact that the majority of the club’s loyal fans at this time have little or no disposal income to spend on the luxury of watching Shrewsbury Town. I would suggest wise words are needed at this time, not insensitive sound bites.
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With talk of respect….
Respect to Kelvin Langmead, the only player to have the respect, good manners and bravery to acknowledge the fans after the game.
Also, why was Coughlan dropped? I noticed also that his piece in the programme was very short as well this week.
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grow up simmo, i am sure you regret last saturdays outburst and town’s result. take the squad down for some sea air at torquay and let the team do their and your talking on the pitch. 2-0 to town. floreat salopia, what you need simmo is a good assistant manager. it is too much for 1 man so in the nicest possible way BELT UP SIMMO
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Homer out !
The fault lies with the manager’s inablilty to motivate, plan and then when we lose to take it on the chin.
What respect I had for Homer has now evapourated as he has proved himself capable of turning on the fans before being a man and admitting he has got things wrong at teh club.
An example being the big smiles on Hereford’s fans faces when Mark Pugh gets the ball and attacks the opposition. Homer is not a good judge of player and should resign sfter we lose at torquay. The fans are livid with him after his disgraceful outburst.
I have never wished us to sack a manager before, well apart from Ratcliffe ! But here it is Simpson out & ASAP…
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I’m seething at the manager’s abuse of the fans.
I find it diabolical that a sane manager cannot realise that what was served up on saturday was a shambolic performance.
We didn’t turn up last week prepared to boo the team or the manager, we came ready to see a decent, passionate and skillful performance, and what we got was shapeless and tactically inept.
Time to do the decent thing please Paul.
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What do you expect Simpson, the town are dead and buried because your players are poor and useless…. yes i said dead and buried.
STFC WILL ALWAYS BE A LEAGUE TWO SIDE!
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It was painful to watch. I totally agree with Richard. I went hoping to see us make up for the previous debacles, what did we get, something a damn site worse. I have said it before and will say it again, look at the record going back years, we start off the season like a blinder, then when our position in the league is secure we start the rot which has happened most, if not every season. We do enough to secure our league place then couldn’t care less. The club quite obviously do not want promotion. Simpson should go.
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Simpson, you say you need too have a thick skin – so why the rant? Get on with it or leave for someone else to do the work for which they get paid.
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harry the squad are not poor and useless, what they suffer from is a lack of confidence, lack of morale and a lack of motivation. all these point to a lack of man management. i will not place all the blame at simmo’s door, part of the problem lies with roland wycherley and a lack of splashing the cash on a dependable assistant manager. simmo in his defence, and i admit, i have been on his back, cannot do the management as a one man band and if the chaiman and his board cannot see that basic fact perhaps it is time for the club to have owners with an element of vision.
finally town will never win anything with that lenny the lion badge. change that ruddy badge, bring back the old one, and bring in an assistant for simmo, then watch us in our 125th year, you will not see our squad for dust. in the meantime roland splash the cash, simmo belt up please and team play your hearts out on saturday in spite of the mickey mouse badge on your shirts. aj70 and floreat salopia and 3 loggerheads!!
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all the lads should have seen their faces going down the wyle cop to see the shrewsbury aces……
whoops, thought we were still at the meadow winning games……
craig butler for manager!
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Without wishing decry fellow STFC fans I think most of the above comments serve well to support Simmo’s comments. They are as a whole pretty moronic. A side that four matches ago outplayed the team second in the league is not a bad side and the manager is not overnight a bad manager. Confidence is a precious asset and we do not have it at the moment, but the moronic comments from some so-called fans will not help the situation. I would rather a financially sound club with a decent, honest mangaer any day. I support Roland Wycherley, Simmo and Dave Hughes that they will give us a team to be proud of.
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NPPrice I think you have totally contradicted yourself matey.
I am not a moron and neither would I say are any of the above comments, apart from yours which is astoundingly crass and a good wind up attempt.
I don’t like a manager who cannot accept resposibilty for his own actions and I am entitled to my opinion.
Oh and btw mangaer is not a word….
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I reckon the chairman is to blame, the players we have no matter what simply cannot play together. They have had enough time to get used to each other and communicate but it’s not happening. In that sense you then have to look at why Mr Simpson is still the manager….. it’s his job to train and sort the players out etc.
I also think that STFC is missing some of the more colourful supporters from our meadow days, the atmoshere in the ground in awful, we used to have a good group of lads on the the riverside and now they have all gone. All we have a shirters who don’t really care and cant sing.
I say bring back the effers and make some noise, put some fun back into the ground and cheer the place up a bit.
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And so many of you thought the grass was greener on the other side..
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