Word to the Wise
BORN in Kensington on December 16, 1966, Dennis Wise was the archetypal midfield terrier.
In a professional playing career spanning 21 years, he won three FA Cups, one League Cup, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Uefa Super Cup and amassed 21 caps for England.
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He was also a part of the Wimbledon team that caused one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history when they defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the 1988 Final at Wembley.
Known for his tenacity and his temper, his disciplinary problems on and off the field often caused him – and his managers – problems, but you could never doubt his commitment to the cause…
He was one of the original Crazy Gang…
Having joined Wimbledon at the age of 18, Wise was soon a fully-fledged member of the so-called ‘Crazy Gang’, the Dons’ boisterous squad.
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Thirty-plus years on and he looks back on those times with fondness and more than a little embarrassment.
"You couldn't do some of the things we did nowadays,” he said.
“Players have to be a bit more disciplined than in our time, it was quite handy there weren't camera phones around then or some very big stories would have come out.
His face never really fitted with England…
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Though he won 21 caps for England the fact that they were gained over a decade shows you just how successive managers failed to accommodate him.
Wise made his England debut in May 1991, scoring the only goal – and his only international goal - in a 1-0 win away in Turkey.
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But when he was left out of Terry Venables’ Euro 96 squad and Glenn Hoddle’s line-up for the World Cup in 1998, it looked as if his international career was over.
And while Kevin Keegan did recall him for the disappointing European Championship squad in 2000, his 21st and final cap for his country came in a goalless draw against Finland the following October.
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And then there was the Gazza incident…
After England’s infamous trip to Hong Kong before Euro 96, the team were heading home on a Cathay Pacific flight when a sleeping Paul Gascoigne was woken by a slap to the face.
Irritated and angered, he strode up and down the aisle looking for the culprit but decided it couldn’t have been Dennis Wise because he was trying to get some sleep himself – in an overhead locker.
His hair caused him some grief…
Nobody is still quite sure what was going on with Wise’s barnet when he turned up on Setanta Sports in 2015 for a spot of punditry.
Suffice to say that Twitter was merciless in its response.
He could wind anyone up…
The list of Wise’s ‘victims’ is as long as it is impressive and nobody was immune from his gamesmanship.
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Take Paul Ince. The former Manchester United midfielder always knew it was going to be fun and games whenever he faced Wise and he learned to expect the unexpected.
“You’d be standing there without the ball and he’d pinch the back of your neck, tread on your toes, whisper in your ear, and drag his studs down your Achilles,” he recalled.
Talking of United…
Wise seemed to enjoy the challenge of taking the country’s premier team down a notch or two.
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In October 1999, United, the reigning champions, arrived at Stamford Bridge boasting a 29-match unbeaten run in the league.
Twenty-three minutes into the game, Wise had flattened Nicky Butt with a high tackle but when the United man reacted, Wise compounded matters by pinching him on the thigh.
Enraged, Butt kneed Wise in the stomach, right under the nose of referee Dermot Gallagher. Red card.
Chelsea, meanwhile, ran out comprehensive 5-0 winners. Job very much done.
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He was a little man with a big temper…
It was Sir Alex Ferguson that said that Wise “could start a row in an empty house” – and with good reason.
And though he was only 5ft 6” he would still take on all-comers, irrespective of their size and stature.
Look at Gerry Taggart. The Northern Irish defender (and Wise’s former Leicester teammate) was several stones and seven inches taller than Wise.
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But it still didn’t stop him from wrestling the centre half during a game between Stoke and Millwall in 2003.
Truth was it was a bit of a mismatch though and when Taggart pinned Wise to the turf the bout was all but over.
But it wasn’t just his opponents…
Trouble followed Wise around like a puppy.
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In 2002, Wise had his contract terminated by Leicester City after he punched his teammate Callum Davidson.
The pair had clashed on the club’s pre-season tour of Finland and Wise had attacked Davidson as he lay in his hotel bed, breaking the Scottish defender’s cheekbone.
After a club investigation, Wise was sacked for gross misconduct, a move that reportedly cost him £3 million in lost wages.
It was the end of a difficult spell at the Foxes…
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Wise had joined the East Midlands club in a £1.6 million move from Chelsea in the summer of 2001.
But three days into his contract he had to inform then manager Peter Taylor that he would soon be seeing his name in the papers after an incident in a restaurant came to light.
Then, at the club’s Christmas party, he clashed with Robbie Savage after he had given the Welsh international a sex toy as a gift. It wasn’t much better on the pitch.
In just his second game for Leicester, he was red carded after clashing with Arsenal’s Patrick Vieira and also received another suspension after picking up five yellow cards in quick succession.
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It probably came as some kind relief when his season was ended by a calf injury after just 17 appearances.
He made an impression in the jungle…
Last year, Wise signed up to appear on the hit ITV show I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and lasted 18 days, finishing a creditable 6th and excelling at the testing ‘Temple of Gloom’ underwater task.
His time in the jungle, however, will be chiefly remembered for the merciless manner in which presenters Ant and Dec made fun of his size, constantly referring him to as “a very small man.”