A few words of advice for Danny Simpson

So Danny Simpson has taken to the press to reaffirm his commitment to Newcastle and state that he doesn't want to leave the club.

He says that he would willingly sign a new deal and would be happy to stay, providing he reached parity with some of the other NUFC stars.

Now I can see Simpson's point to an extent. He's been a virtual ever-present since he arrived on loan from Manchester United in our Championship season. He then earned a permanent move to Tyneside, has made the right-back spot his own and has been a big part of our success since relegation although how much of his success has been due to the fact he is our ONLY real option at right-back is up for discussion.

The question is what sort of parity he is looking for? Is he looking for parity with the likes of Fabricio Coloccini? Or is he looking for parity with the likes of Steven Taylor? Of course we don't know what parity would be however and any speculation would be purely guesswork given the fact that player wages are no longer public knowledge at St James' Park.

If you go by rumours, Simpson has been offered somewhere in the region of £25,000 a week in wages. He signed with us for £10,000 a week which was raised to £15,000 a week after promotion. Essentially what he has been offered is, rather amazingly despite the huge wage packets of some players, the average Premier League salary.

Now I'm not saying he is greedy for wanting the best for himself as, in all walks of life, it is essentially what we all try and do. However he should keep in mind the words of Derek Llambias who said just a few weeks ago something along the lines of "our first offer is very close to what our final offer will be," which should at least be considered by Simpson right now.

Opinion on Simpson is split. Some believe he is really good, and the stats from this season prove that, while other believe he has creases in his game which need ironing out. I'm in the latter camp in truth, but whilst I do acknowledge he has played a part for us I also don't think he is irreplaceable by any stretch of the imagination.

All in all it will sort itself out one way or the other over the summer. Either he'll sign a new deal or leave the club and we've seen before that the club are not afraid of being ruthless.

If Simpson tries to play hard ball there will only be one winner, and I wholeheartedly believe that Simpson will end up regretting it in the long run.

This one is going to run for a while yet...