Simpson says he has no regrets ahead of his move from Newcastle to Championship side QPR.
Danny Simpson: "The whole four years has just been class.
"I always say if anything's not gone right, then I've learnt from it and it's made me better.
"So I don't really have any regrets.
"Anything that's not gone right for me, I've learnt from and worked on and become better from it.
"Obviously winning the Championship the way we did is one of the highlights, getting back into the Premier League, but also just cementing my place in the team the season before last and finishing fifth.
"And there were one-off games - beating Sunderland 5-1, the comeback against Arsenal... I'll never forget those days and those games, but the whole four years have been top class.
"I don't think that 4-0 to 4-4 will ever happen again and to beat your rivals 5-1, that was my second Premier League game for Newcastle and to beat them the way we did that day, I know how much it means to the fans here.
"I can happily walk away and say I played four derbies: won two, drew two so I'm happy with that record.
"I loved playing pretty much every game when we finished fifth and got into Europe, and then playing in Europe as well - Benfica away, those kinds of games and experiences are invaluable and I loved every minute of it."
2010/11 NEWCASTLE 5 SUNDERLAND 1NEWCASTLE: Krul, Jose Enrique, Coloccini, Williamson, Simpson,Tiote, Barton, Nolan, Gutierrez, Ameobi (Ranger 86), Carroll.Subs Not Used: Soderberg, Routledge, Lovenkrands, Perch, Ryan Taylor, Smith.
SUNDERLAND: Mignolet, Bardsley, Bramble, Turner, Onuoha,Henderson, Cattermole (Mensah 76), Malbranque,Elmohamady (Gyan 40), Welbeck (Richardson 55), Bent.Subs Not Used: Gordon, Zenden, Da Silva, Ferdinand.
Att: 51,988
Captain Kevin Nolan plundered a derby hat-trick to hand manager Chris Hughton the perfect ending to an eventful week as Newcastle routed Sunderland.
The midfielder put the home side 2-0 ahead within 34 minutes and completed his treble 15 minutes from time, after striker Shola Ameobi had helped himself to two goals, the first of them from the penalty spot.
It was the first hat-trick in the fixture since Peter Beardsley achieved the feat for Newcastle in January 1985.
Sunderland, who had former Magpies defender Titus Bramble sent off for an ill-judged challenge on Andy Carroll in the 53rd minute, were never at the races on a day when their promoted neighbours won at St James' Park for the first time in five attempts.
Darren Bent's last-minute strike was no consolation for the travelling fans, many of whom had already left.
It proved a sweet afternoon for Hughton following a week during which speculation over his future at the club reached fever pitch.
The 51-year-old was serenaded by the delighted home contingent in a crowd of 51,988 as his side completely outplayed their most bitter rivals, who rarely troubled goalkeeper Tim Krul until Bent's late effort, despite Geordie manager Steve Bruce sending on record signing Asamoah Gyan before half-time to add firepower.
Sunderland had conceded only seven goals in their first nine Barclays Premier League games, but were repeatedly torn apart by a committed Magpies side even before Bramble's premature departure.
The Black Cats arrived on Tyneside in an optimistic mood on the back of a seven-game unbeaten Barclays Premier League run to meet a side which had not won on their own pitch in four attempts.
But Sunderland's goals-against total was to rise significantly inside a rousing opening 45 minutes during which Newcastle took the game by the scruff of the neck.
The Magpies were on the front foot from the off as the game started at a lively pace, and they steadily built momentum before exploding into life with 24 minutes gone.
It took a fine reaction save from Simon Mignolet to keep out Andy Carroll's bullet header, and the Belgian had to be equally alert two minutes later to claw Joey Barton's stinging drive away from the bottom corner.
But the deadlock was finally broken from the resulting corner when central defender Mike Williamson got up well to head down Barton's corner and Nolan sent the ball into the roof of the net with an acrobatic overhead kick.
The noise level at St James' Park reached ear-splitting levels as Nolan was mobbed by his team-mates, and it was to get much, much better for the home fans before the half-time whistle sounded.
Newcastle increased their lead within eight minutes when Carroll's scuffed volley fell perfectly for the criminally unmarked Nolan, who controlled before slipping the ball past the advancing Mignolet.
Bruce's game plan was simply not working, with lone striker Bent almost redundant, and the manager made his tactical move five minutes before the break when he sent on £13million-plus man Gyan in place of Ahmed Elmohamady and switched to a 4-4-2 formation.
But before the new arrival could make an impact, his side fell further behind after Nedum Onuoha's clumsy injury-time challenge on Jonas Gutierrez prompted referee Phil Dowd to point to the spot.
Ameobi, who converted a penalty in the corresponding fixture two seasons ago, repeated the feat to pile the pressure on Bruce and his players.
Sunderland's reshuffle had seen Steed Malbranque drop into a midfield four and Jordan Henderson move out to the right, and while that gave them a better shape, they caused few problems for their hosts in the opening minutes of the second half.
Their woes deepened with 53 minutes gone when in his eagerness to prevent Carroll from racing in on goal, Bramble launched himself into a desperate challenge which sent the striker sprawling, and was punished with a straight red card.
Carroll sent a towering header over the bar two minutes later with the visitors rocking, and Bruce introduced Kieran Richardson as a replacement for Danny Welbeck with things going from bad to worse.
Krul, who had been a virtual spectator for much of the game, had to get down well to turn away Phil Bardsley's 65th-minute strike, but the Magpies were coasting to victory.
They increased their lead with 20 minutes remaining when Carroll's powerful header came back off the crossbar and Ameobi rifled home spectacularly.
There was worse to come five minutes later when Nolan met Ameobi's flick-on two yards out to complete his hat-trick, and Bent's last-minute strike repaired none of the damage inflicted on the demoralised visitors.
2010/11 NEWCASTLE 4 ARSENAL 4NEWCASTLE: Harper, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Barton, Tiote, Nolan, Gutierrez,Best (Guthrie 89), Lovenkrands (Ranger 73).Subs Not Used: Krul, Campbell, Perch, Ferguson, Richardson.
ARSENAL: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou (Squillaci 48), Clichy, Walcott (Eboue 79), Wilshere, Diaby, Fabregas,Arshavin (Rosicky 69), van Persie.Subs Not Used: Almunia, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner.
Att: 51,561
Cheik Tiote's first goal in English football secured a remarkable point for Newcastle as they fought back from 4-0 down against 10-man Arsenal.
The Ivory Coast international pegged back the Gunners with a stunning 87th-minute volley after Joey Barton had scored twice from the penalty spot either side of Leon Best's fourth goal of the season.
Alan Pardew's men were in complete disarray as the Gunners raced into a 4-0 lead at St James' Park within the opening 26 minutes.
Goals from Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and a Robin van Persie double looked to have wrapped up the points and allowed Arsenal to keep the pressure on Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United.
But after midfielder Abou Diaby had been sent off for furiously pushing Barton to the ground after a no-holds-barred 48th-minute challenge, Newcastle, roared on by a crowd of 51,561, pulled off the most unlikely of recoveries.
Life for Newcastle without Andy Carroll had got off to a bad start at Fulham on Wednesday evening, and the mood inside St James' was decidedly ugly by the time 10 chaotic minutes had elapsed.
Arsenal were breathtaking as their pace and movement left the men in black and white at times bewildered.
However, they met little resistance as a Newcastle side which had won 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium in November showed few signs of producing a similarly dogged display on their own pitch, even with combative midfielder Tiote restored to the side after his three-match ban.
The worry before kick-off had been that, without Carroll, now at Liverpool, and the injured Shola Ameobi, the ball would not stick in the final third of the field and that would invite pressure on to Newcastle's back four.
In the event, neither Carroll nor Ameobi would have made a significant difference as their side saw too little of the ball to worry the Gunners.
They did not see it at all in amid a red and white blizzard as Arsenal had the game under control before they had broken sweat.
Walcott had scored twice in a 4-0 Carling Cup victory on Tyneside in October, and he needed only 42 seconds to increase his tally as he ran on to Andrey Arshavin's pass and slid the ball past Steve Harper with Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson trailing in his wake.
There were less than three minutes on the clock when Djourou was inexplicably allowed to meet an Arshavin free-kick seven yards out, and his header flew in off the underside of the crossbar.
When Van Persie fired home a third goal from Walcott's cross in the 10th minute, a packed house settled down for what looked certain to be an agonising remaining 80 minutes.
The first chorus of disapproval aimed at owner Mike Ashley rang around St James' Park as the game restarted.
Wenger's men were simply irresistible, with Cesc Fabregas and Diaby dominating in the middle of the pitch to allow Arshavin, Walcott and Jack Wilshere to repeatedly run at the shell-shocked Newcastle defence.
Arsenal increased their lead with 26 minutes gone when Van Persie headed Bacary Sagna's cross home, and it came as a surprise that the scoreline remained at 4-0 when the half-time whistle handed the Magpies brief respite.
Van Persie might have done better after running on to Williamson's weak header and shooting wide, and Harper managed to turn the Dutchman's shot against the post in injury-time.
But the cracks started to appear after Diaby over-reacted to Barton's rugged challenge and pushed him to the ground to earn an inevitable red card.
Newcastle took the Frenchman's untimely departure as their cue to step up a gear, and they got their reward after 68 minutes when, after Koscielny had brought down Best inside the box, Barton converted from the penalty spot to at least give the more optimistic members of the Toon Army some hope.
Alarm bells started ringing for the Gunners when Best struck from close range with 15 minutes remaining, and when Barton drilled home a second penalty with seven minutes to play, a point was there for the taking.
Tiote saved the best for last when he lashed an 87th-minute left-footed volley into the bottom left corner to complete a remarkable repair job.
Kevin Nolan might even have won the game for Newcastle in injury-time, but that was a little too much to ask.
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