Robbie Simpson: The miscommunication that stopped me returning to Brentford | OneFootball

Football is a funny old game. When Jordan Rhodes returned to Huddersfield Town after a stunning yet fleeting loan spell at Brentford during the 2008/08 League Two promotion season, he started a journey that led to him becoming one of the most fearsome strikers in the Football League.

Robbie Simpson had designs on becoming the Terriers’ main man, too, having joined from Coventry that summer. But a nasty bout of swine flu, a niggly thigh injury and the form of his teenage team-mate restricted him to just 16 appearances, four starts and one goal.

It was a less-than-ideal start to life in west Yorkshire, but he was determined to turn things around in his second season.

“They had made it known they wanted me to go out on loan, but I was fully fit and I thought this was my chance to actually be a Huddersfield player and help us get promoted,” Simpson explains.

“So I left it until the last day, as it were, and then, when it was apparent I wasn't going to be involved in the first game of the season, I agreed.”

It was to be at Brentford that he would try to get up and running again.

“Talks were still going on until the day before the first game of the season up at Carlisle, so I trained the Friday morning with Huddersfield, then shot across to meet Brentford's team coach at Lilleshall,” he says.

“We trained there - I basically had a double session - I met the lads for the first time and then went up to Carlisle for the first game, so it was a bit of a whirlwind.

“It was a bit of a unique time with the new ownership coming in and the new model and way of recruiting players, and a bit of an injection of funds for the playing budget, so it was a really exciting time to join Brentford.

“I liked the thought of going back down south for a bit; lots of friends lived in and around London, so given the season that I had before, it felt like I needed a bit of home comfort. And my dad used to take me and my brother to watch Brentford as a kid!”

Andy Scott had given Simpson assurances that he would play and he handed him his debut in the opener as a second-half replacement for defender Michael Spillane, who had started on the right wing ahead of Sam Saunders.

He took advantage of those assurances and was flying before long. In fact, in the six games that followed, he provided one assist and scored four goals, including a stunning free-kick in the 2-1 League Cup win over Hull City at Griffin Park.

Soon he was back on the treatment table, though, after an injury suffered towards the end of the 1-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday on 5 September 2010.

“I played really well in that game, but with literally probably the last action of the game, I felt my hamstring slightly,” Simpson continues.

“And because I'd been injured a lot the previous year, I didn't say anything to anybody.

“With a bit of time before the next game, I thought I’d leave it and let it settle; try and play the fatigue card a little bit so I did less training, and then when I trained, try to train within my limits to not feel it. But it got closer and closer to the next game, and I had to tell the manager.

“It was another little niggly one that just wouldn't go away. That was the frustrating thing - it didn't feel like a proper injury.

"It didn't feel like I'd ripped my hamstring or broken my leg or anything like that. It was just painful and restrictive. I felt like if I was to go full tilt then it would go properly.”

That kept him out of the famous cup clash against Everton, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy second-round win over Leyton Orient and the next seven League One games.

When he did play after returning, he often came off the bench, but everything paled in comparison after he and his family suffered personal tragedy.

“I remember the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy game against Charlton as that was soon after my sister-in-law passed away suddenly, so I remember that game vividly,” he recalls.

“I had a shirt on underneath my shirt that, if I'd scored, I would have whipped off, and live on Sky, it would have been a lovely moment, but I didn't manage to do that.

“The injury was really tough, but it was a lot harder the season before. I was obviously disappointed and gutted, but there were bigger things in the world that I was dealing with mentally, so it didn't affect me too much.”

Simpson spent further time on the sidelines later on in the season with ankle ligament issues and says he feels a sense of “guilt” towards Scott for the injuries that prevented him replicating the early season form later down the line, particularly given the fact he was dismissed in early February 2011.

He did manage to recover in time to be in contention for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final against Carlisle at Wembley, though - or so he thought.

“My target when I got injured again was to get back fit for the final and I did,” he says.

“I think I managed to train twice before that game and I felt like I played a big part for us getting there - and I felt like there were players that had no part in getting us there.

“When Nicky Forster came in, Mark Warburton came in as well and I think everybody knew Mark really was the one that was calling the shots.

"Suddenly we had loans from Premier League clubs coming to us; it got to a stage where we had more loans than were allowed in a matchday squad.

“I felt really great because I'd worked so hard to get back fit for that final and I really wanted to be involved, not just for me personally, but I felt like I could have added something and I felt like maybe the youngsters weren't ready for that kind of game - and also being a bit bitter that they did nothing to get us there.

“They'd come in and got the glory when there were players left out that got us there.”

15 years on, the disappointment remains, though five years of management have helped him sympathise with Forster.

“There might have been times when I wasn't starting or wasn't playing and I'd not be very happy," he says.

"And to be fair to Nicky, he would put me straight and he’d say, ‘You've got to be a team player, make sure you're ready to come on’ and that kind of stuff. He wanted Brentford to do really, really well - and that was as a player.

“I remember him being really reliable and clean with his touches and strikes. I learned from him that you haven't got to try and score a world-class goal, you've just got to be there; good movement, right place, right time, be secure with your touches and link-up play. As a centre-forward, you don't have to be the one that wins the match.

“When he became manager, he tried to implement some stuff that he'd really enjoyed when he was a player. But I know now how hard it's been transitioning from a team-mate to a manager of that same group, so I know how hard it must have been for Nicky.”

Simpson played his last game for the club in the 1-1 draw away at Notts County on 25 April 2011. He ended the season with eight goals and one assist in 36 games in all competitions - his highest return as a Football League player to that point.

“I look back and think, 18 starts, eight goals, I'm okay with that, particularly when I played a lot out wide in those games,” he adds. “I have lots of strong memories of my time at Brentford.”

He returned to Huddersfield upon the expiry of his loan, then joined Oldham Athletic - initially on loan, later permanently - in the summer of 2011.

His fourth game for the Latics was against Brentford, when goalkeeper coach Simon Royce delivered some bittersweet news.

“Roycey came up and spoke to me before the game and said Uwe Rösler had told him, if he’d known I was available, he would’ve text me,” he adds.

“If I’d have known there was still interest, I’d have definitely been chomping at the bit to come back because I really did love being a Brentford player. You could tell it was the start of something special.

“At Oldham, I played regularly, pretty much injury-free and I could really showcase what I was about for the first time since I left Coventry and dropped down from the Championship.

“They were the benefactors, but it could easily have been Brentford if the communication had been a bit better. Maybe I should’ve had a better agent!”

While another move sadly never materialised, Simpson - a member of the 'Brentford Legends' WhatsApp group - is leaving his job as Chelmsford City manager at the end of the season and retiring from management altogether, which frees him up for a long-awaited return to visit west London.