In terms of knowledge, the reporter has seen and done it all. Reporting on games from the ‘mighty’ North Shields FC to Newcastle United in his career.

For those not familiar with the name, Simpson is the Non-League expert for BBC Tees and the Northern Echo up in the North East of the country.

Having reported on twelve... yes twelve, FA Vase, FA Trophy and Play-Off finals at Wembley Stadium, Simpson has a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the Semi-Professional game.

Simpson gave up his valuable time to talk to about the game he loves and said things must change in order for the game to prosper more than it already is;

“The future of non-league football is looking brighter now than it has done for several years, but it still depends on several factors.”

“There has to be investment in the grassroots of the game. There seems to be a debate about exactly what the grassroots are. It doesn’t take a genius to work that one out.”

Simpson added; “Investment needs to be provided for clubs to use in the construction of facilities and ground improvements, to enable them to form community-based clubs. The more youngsters, both male and female, that can be attracted to play football, then all the better.”

Statistics show fan involvement in the fifth tier and below is booming. FC United of Manchester in the 7th tier of football attracted 2,007 fans to their last home fixture against Halesowen Town. Darlington 1883 in the 8th tier of football saw 1,382 supporters through their gates for their Boxing Day clash against Scarborough Athletic.

Compare these statistics, to the fact that your average attendance for a SKY BET League Two fixture is just over 1,500 and you can see, how there is a rising in non-league football that will continue to grow.

Simpson has urged the FA to pump more money into non-league football by stating it is now time to encourage the footballers of tomorrow to come through. Who knows, we may see the next Gascoigne, Rooney or Beckham pop up at our local non-league side soon;

“The way forward for the game is to encourage clubs to form teams for all age groups, because after all, they provide the footballers of tomorrow. But does the FA have the resources and the determination to do that?”

“The FA should seriously consider providing the finance and the expertise to construct more state-of-the-art pitches around the country. If they want more people to play the game, then they have to provide the surfaces to play on, and make them easily accessible.”

For many of a certain generation, paying extortionate prices and putting up with Sunday afternoon kick offs has been the norm with the real fans missing out on watching their team home and away in the 21st century. A lot of this due to the fact ‘fat cats’ in board rooms up and down the country, charging ridiculous amounts of money, for spectators to watch twenty two working class men kick a football for ninety minutes.

Simpson however knows what the ‘good old days’ felt like and knows things have changed and those at the top of the game should see this too and adapt to the modern world;

“Gone are the days when kids used to climb over the fence and play on the pitch of the local school. Gone also are the days when kids used to kick a ball around in the back street.”

“There have been initiatives around the country to attract more families to football matches at our level. When I went to my first football match with my brother back in the late sixties, admission was only about four shillings (20p).”

“Charging in the region of £50 for a youngster to go to some of these Premiership matches is way too excessive. Those sort of prices are way too much for the ordinary working man or woman to take their families to the game. There is growing evidence that some people are turning their backs on the Premiership and the Football League and instead watching grassroots football.”

“The profile of the non-league game has also increased since the introduction of the internet. There are now many more ways of discovering non-league than just through the local newspaper. So many clubs nowadays have “media managers” responsible for putting news into the public domain. Football has to adapt to the way that society is changing and the non-league game has the potential to overcome hardship.”