There was always something of the ‘cheeky chappy’ about Dennis Wise, which might be as much to do with his diminutive stature as anything else. Having made a name for himself as part of the ‘Crazy Gang’ at Wimbledon, Wise joined Chelsea in 1990 and was made the club captain by Glenn Hoddle. Although the number of clubs that he went to after his time at Stamford Bridge suggests that he was something of a ‘journeyman’, the reality is that he will always be remembered as a Chelsea player. That is not least because of the fact that he remains the club’s second-most successful ever captain after John Terry.
Dennis Wise’s Honours as a Chelsea Player
| Season | League Titles | Domestic Cups | European/International Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | – | FA Cup | – |
| 1998-1999 | – | – | Super Cup |
| 1997-1998 | – | League Cup | Cup Winners’ Cup |
| 1996-1997 | – | FA Cup | – |
Who is Dennis Wise?
Dennis Frank Wise was born in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea on the 16th of December 1966. In spite of the fact that he grew up in the nation’s capital, he actually made his way into football during his early years by playing for Southampton’s youth team. His time there didn’t last all that long, with Wise’s confronting personality leading to a falling out with the manager Lawrie McMenemy. As a result, he was left without a club and signed for Wimbledon as an 18-year-old on a free transfer. His debut for the club came under Dave Bassett, but in the autumn of 1985 he was sent on loan to Grebbestads IF in Sweden.
Having gained some experience of first-team football, he returned to Plough Lane and was part of the team that helped Wimbledon to gain promotion to the Football League First Division in 1986. In his first season in the top-flight he scored four goals across 27 starts, helping the Dons to finish sixth. Wimbledon established themselves as a First Division club and in 1988 reached the FA Cup final, with Wise having contributed important goals on their journey there. He also took the free-kick from which Lawrie Sanchez scored the winning goal, causing one of the biggest upsets in English football history when Wimbledon beat Liverpool.
Moving to Chelsea
On the third of July 1990, Chelsea made the decision to sign Wise for a then-record fee of £1.6 million. It proved to be an inspired move, with the midfielder scoring 13 goals in 44 matches, helping the Blues to finish 11th. Ahead of the 1991-1992 season, Wise’s former Wimbledon teammate Vinnie Jones also joined Chelsea, giving the club an intimidating midfield. Wise became the club’s top scorer, netting 14 times from midfield, including an excellent performance against Liverpool at Anfield in the February of 1992; noteworthy for being Chelsea’s first win at the stadium since 1935 and cementing Wise’s place as a thorn in the Reds’ side.
In 1993, Andy Townsend left Chelsea and Glenn Hoddle was brought in as manager. Hoddle recognised the growing importance of Wise in the Chelsea side, making a decision to give the captain’s armband. Although the club’s league form was disappointing, Wise did lead the Blues out at Wembley in the club’s first FA Cup final appearance in 24 years. Sadly he was unable to prevent the Blues from losing 4-0 to Manchester United, but the green shoots of success were there. The 1994-1995 season started in exciting fashion for him, scoring a penalty in the second goal before being sent off on the 10th of September.
Having missed out on a Cup Winners’ Cup appearance with Wimbledon in 1988-1989 because of the ban on English clubs in Europe in the wake of the Heysel Stadium Disaster, Wise was able to play in the competition thanks to Manchester United’s qualification for the Champions League. He scored his first goal in Europe against Viktoria Žižkov. Sadly off-field antics caused Hoddle to briefly strip Wise of the captaincy after he was found guilty of assaulting a taxi driver, being given a three-month prison term and made to pay £965 compensation, as well as £169 for damaging his glasses and £100 for shock and distress.
Winning More Trophies
Having been stripped of the captaincy, Wise then suffered another indignity of suffering a long-term injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. When he returned for the 1996-1997 season, he was restored as captain and helped to lead Chelsea to another FA Cup final, this time against Middlesbrough. With just one FA Cup triumph in the club’s long history, Wise became the second captain for the Blues to lift the trophy when Chelsea won 2-0. It was the start of a flurry of success for Chelsea, with Wise also getting to lift the League Cup trophy during the 1997-1998 campaign, thanks to another 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Chelsea also appeared in that season’s Cup Winners’ Cup final, with the Blues playing against Stuttgart. Wise was in fine form, playing a dinked pass over the defence in order to setup Gianfranco Zola, who scored the winner. It meant that Chelsea got the play in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid, with Wise once again the winning captain after a late strike from Gus Poyet in Monaco scored a 1-0 win. Sadly, Wise’s playing time that season was limited thanks to his own lack of discipline, missing 15 matches in all competitions, receiving three red cards along the way. Even so, he helped Chelsea to their highest Premier League finish.
A third-place finish in the league put Chelsea in the Champions League for the first time, with Wise acting as captain as the club won the first-leg of a third round qualifying match 3-0 and drew the second-leg 0-0. In their fourth group match, Wise came on and scored the club’s fourth goal in a 5-0 win over Galatasaray in Istanbul. A week later the Blues secured top-spot, thanks in no small part to Wise’s equaliser against AC Milan at the San Siro. More disciplinary problems were to come, with Wise being fined £7,500 by the Football Association. Another FA Cup win came at the end of the season, though, after Wise was named man of the match in a win over Aston Villa.
Life After Chelsea
In the 2000 Charity Shield, as the competition was known then, Wise enjoyed his final piece of silverware as Chelsea captain. It came in a 2-0 win over Manchester United, with goals from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mario Melchiot. Sadly for the player himself, the arrival of Claudio Ranieri as manager meant his time at Chelsea had reached its conclusion. The Italian wanted to lower the average age of the Chelsea squad, so Wise was sold to Leicester City for £1.6 million. He had played for the Blues for 11 years, scoring 76 goals whilst becoming the club’s fourth-highest appearance maker after playing 445 games.
At Leicester, Wise played just 17 times after being sent home from the club’s pre-season tour for breaking the jaw of a teammate. On the second of August he was sacked by the club for serious misconduct, but he was re-instated after he appealed. The club then won their own appeal on the 18th of September. On the 24th of September 2002, Wise signed for Millwall, becoming player-manager the following year. They reached the FA Cup final, becoming the first club from outside the top-flight to have done so since Sunderland in 1992. They lost 3-0 but qualified for the UEFA Cup as victors Manchester United were in the Champions League.
When a new regime arrived at the club, Wise decided to leave and signed for his first club Southampton. He made 12 appearances and was briefly the joint-caretaker manager, working with Dave Bassett, but left when George Burley took over. He signed for Coventry City, scoring a goal in his first three games. He was offered a new one-year deal at the end of the season, but chose to retire as a football and concentrate on management. This included spells at Swindon Town and Leeds United, but he left the latter club when they were third in order to become an Executive Director at Newcastle United; a move that didn’t work out.