Dennis Wise facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dennis Wise

Wise in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Dennis Frank Wise
Date of birth	(1966-12-16) 16 December 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth	Kensington, England
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1983–1985	Southampton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1990	Wimbledon	135	(27)
1985	→ Grebbestads IF (loan)	10	(5)
1990–2001	Chelsea	332	(53)
2001–2002	Leicester City	17	(1)
2002–2005	Millwall	85	(7)
2005–2006	Southampton	11	(1)
2006	Coventry City	13	(6)
2006	Swindon Town	0	(0)
Total		593	(95)
International career
1988	England U21	1	(0)
1989–1990	England B	3	(1)
1991–2000	England	21	(1)
Managerial career
2003–2005	Millwall
2005	Southampton (caretaker)
2006	Swindon Town
2006–2008	Leeds United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is a famous English former professional football player and manager. He played as a central midfielder, which is a player who controls the middle of the field. Most of his career was spent at Chelsea, from 1990 to 2001.

Wise started his career at Wimbledon. He was part of the "Crazy Gang", a nickname for the Wimbledon team known for their tough and fearless style. In 1988, he helped them win the FA Cup in a surprising victory against Liverpool. In 1990, he moved to Chelsea and became their captain three years later. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home stadium, Wise won two FA Cups, a League Cup, and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He is Chelsea's second most successful captain, after John Terry. Chelsea fans really liked Wise, and he was named the club's Player of the Year twice. In June 2001, he was sold to Leicester City.

Dennis Wise also played for the England national football team. Most of his international games were in 2000, when Kevin Keegan was the manager. He was part of the UEFA Euro 2000 squad and played in all three of England's group matches. His only goal for England was in his very first game on 1 May 1991, against Turkey.

Later in his playing career, Wise started getting involved in managing teams. He became a player-manager at Millwall, meaning he played and managed at the same time. He led Millwall to the FA Cup Final and helped them play in a European competition for the first time ever. He also had short managing roles at Southampton and Swindon Town. In October 2006, he became the manager of Leeds United. Even though Leeds was relegated, Wise rebuilt the team, and they had a great start to the next season. In January 2008, Wise left Leeds to join Newcastle United in an executive role, where he helped find young players and develop the club's youth academy. He left Newcastle in April 2009. Since then, he has worked as a football expert for Sky Sports. In 2017, Wise appeared on the TV show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!".

Playing Career Highlights

Starting at Wimbledon

Dennis Wise began his football journey as a young player at Southampton. After leaving Southampton, he joined Wimbledon on 28 March 1985, when he was 18 years old. In the autumn of 1985, he played on loan for a Swedish team called Grebbestads IF. When he returned to Wimbledon, he helped the club get promoted to the top division of English football in 1986. In his first season in the First Division, Wise scored four goals and helped Wimbledon finish in a strong sixth place.

Wise was a key part of Wimbledon's famous "Crazy Gang" team that reached the 1988 FA Cup Final. On 12 March 1988, he set up a goal from a free-kick that helped Wimbledon beat Watford and reach the FA Cup semi-finals. In the semi-final match against Luton Town on 9 April, he scored the winning goal, sending Wimbledon to the final. In the final on 14 May, Wimbledon faced the strong team of Liverpool. Wise played a very important role, helping to control Liverpool's winger John Barnes and providing the free-kick that Lawrie Sanchez headed in for the winning goal. This was a huge upset victory for Wimbledon at Wembley.

Time at Chelsea

Dennis Wise joined Chelsea on 3 July 1990 for a club-record fee of £1.6 million. In his first season with Chelsea, he scored 13 goals in 44 games. His former Wimbledon teammate Vinnie Jones joined Chelsea in 1991, and having him in midfield seemed to help Wise play even better. Wise was Chelsea's top scorer that season with 14 goals from midfield. One of his best games was a 2–1 win away against Liverpool on 1 February 1992, which was Chelsea's first league win at Anfield since 1935.

After Chelsea's captain Andy Townsend left in 1993, and Glenn Hoddle became manager, Wise was made the new captain. Even though Chelsea's league performance was not great in the 1993–94 season, Wise led the team to their first FA Cup Final in 24 years. However, Chelsea lost 4–0 to Manchester United in that final.

Wise continued to be a key player for Chelsea. He captained the team that beat Middlesbrough 2–0 in the 1997 FA Cup Final, which was Chelsea's second FA Cup win and Wise's first trophy as captain. Chelsea's success continued in the 1997–98 season. Wise led Chelsea to victory in the League Cup, again beating Middlesbrough 2–0. He also made a crucial pass in the Cup Winners' Cup final, setting up Gianfranco Zola to score the winning goal against Stuttgart.

Wise then captained Chelsea to another trophy, beating Real Madrid in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup. In the 1998–99 season, he led Chelsea to their highest league finish at the time, third place. This meant Chelsea qualified for the Champions League for the first time ever. In Chelsea's first Champions League match, Wise captained the team to a 3–0 victory against Skonto FC. He scored a memorable Champions League goal against A.C. Milan in the San Siro stadium, which helped Chelsea finish top of their group. Wise captained Chelsea to their second FA Cup win in three years in 2000, beating Aston Villa 1–0. His last major trophy as Chelsea captain was the 2000 FA Charity Shield on 13 August, where Chelsea beat Manchester United 2–0.

In June 2001, new manager Claudio Ranieri decided to make the Chelsea squad younger, and Wise was sold to Leicester City for £1.6 million. He had spent 11 years at Stamford Bridge, playing 445 games and scoring 76 goals, making him one of the players with the most appearances in Chelsea's history.

Later Playing Career

Wise's time at Leicester City was short. He played only 17 league games and scored one goal. He left Leicester in August 2002.

He then joined Millwall on 24 September 2002 and became their player-manager in 2003. Wise led Millwall to their first ever FA Cup Final in 2004. They were the first team from outside the top division to reach the final since 1992. Millwall lost 3–0 to Manchester United in the final. However, because Manchester United had already qualified for the Champions League, Millwall earned a spot in the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. They were knocked out in the first round by Hungarian team Ferencváros. Wise left Millwall at the end of the 2004–05 season.

Wise returned to Southampton on 27 June 2005 and played 12 games for the club. He briefly served as joint-caretaker manager with Dave Bassett after Harry Redknapp left. Wise scored one league goal for Southampton. He left Southampton on 26 December 2005.

It wasn't long before Wise was playing again. He signed a six-month deal with Coventry City on 19 January 2006. He started strongly, scoring a goal in each of his first three games for Coventry, including a spectacular overhead kick. On 9 May, Wise was offered a new contract but decided it was time to stop playing and focus on managing. He finished his Coventry career with six goals in thirteen games.

International Appearances

Dennis Wise made his England debut on 1 May 1991. He scored the only goal in that game as England beat Turkey in a Euro 92 qualifying match. After a good season, many expected Wise to be in the squad for the 1996 European Championships held in England, but he just missed out. Even though he led Chelsea to victories in the League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup in 1998, he was not chosen for the England squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

He was called back to the England team in 1999 after four years away. He played in a match against Belgium and then had a strong performance against Argentina on 23 February 2000, which ended in a 0–0 draw.

Wise played in three friendly matches before the Euro 2000 tournament. He was then included in the final squad by manager Kevin Keegan. He came on as a substitute in England's first match on 12 June 2000 against Portugal. He started England's next match against Germany and was praised for his role in the 1–0 win, which was England's first victory over Germany in a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup final. He also started England's final group game against Romania.

After Euro 2000, Wise played a full game against France on 2 September, which ended in a 1–1 draw. His last game for England was a 0–0 World Cup qualifying match against Finland on 11 October 2000.

Managerial Career

Managing Swindon Town

On 22 May 2006, Dennis Wise became the Swindon Town player-manager, signing a three-year contract. His former Chelsea teammate Gustavo Poyet joined him as his assistant. They had a fantastic start to the season, winning six out of seven games and topping the League Two table. Because of this great start, Wise was given the Manager of the Month award.

On 24 October, Wise left Swindon to join Leeds United. He left Swindon in third place in the league.

Leading Leeds United

On 20 September 2006, Dennis Wise was linked with the manager job at Leeds United. On 21 October, Swindon allowed Wise and his assistant Gus Poyet to talk to Leeds. After some discussions, on 24 October, it was officially confirmed that Dennis Wise, Gus Poyet, and Andrew Beasley had joined Leeds United as manager, assistant manager, and goalkeeping coach.

Wise watched his new team lose 3–1 in a League Cup game on the evening he arrived. In a press conference, he said he believed he could bring Leeds back to the Premiership. Wise took over when Leeds was near the bottom of the Championship league and facing financial difficulties.

Wise's first game in charge was four days later against Southend, which Leeds won 2–0. However, the team continued to struggle for the rest of the season. Leeds was relegated to League One for the first time in their history after receiving a 10-point penalty for going into administration. Despite this, chairman Ken Bates kept Wise as manager for the 2007–08 season.

Leeds started the 2007–08 season very well, winning their first 7 league games. Wise was named Manager of the Month for both August and September. However, on 29 October 2007, Poyet left Leeds to become an assistant at Tottenham. Three days later, Wise's former manager at Wimbledon, Dave Bassett, became his new assistant. Leeds lost their unbeaten record on 3 November.

Leeds briefly topped the table on Boxing Day 2007. Wise left the club on 28 January 2008 to take on a new role at Newcastle United. His last game in charge was a 1–1 draw against Luton Town.

Executive Roles

Newcastle United

On 29 January 2008, Newcastle United announced that Wise would join the club as Executive Director (Football). In this role, he advised the board on football matters, focusing on transfers, scouting, and youth development. He worked with Tony Jimenez and Jeff Vetere to identify young players for manager Kevin Keegan and help develop the club's academy.

After Keegan left the club on 4 September, Wise faced pressure from fans to leave. Wise left Newcastle on 1 April 2009.

Como 1907

On 9 May 2019, Dennis Wise became a technical consultant for the Italian football team Como 1907. In February 2021, he took on the role of sole administrator for the club.

Career Statistics

Club Playing Record

International Goals

Score and result list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Wise goal.

International goal scored by Dennis Wise

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1 May 1991	İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey	Turkey	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying

Managerial Statistics

Team	Nat	From	To
				P	W	D	L	Win %
Millwall		15 October 2003	9 May 2005	89	36	24	29	40.45
Swindon Town		22 May 2006	24 October 2006	17	9	5	3	52.94
Leeds United		24 October 2006	28 January 2008	69	30	12	27	43.48
Total				&&&&&&&&&&&&0175.&&&&&0175	&&&&&&&&&&&&&075.&&&&&075	&&&&&&&&&&&&&041.&&&&&041	&&&&&&&&&&&&&059.&&&&&059	&&&&&&&&&&&&&042.90000042.9

Includes all League, Cup & European first team fixtures.

Honours and Awards

As a Player

Wimbledon

• FA Cup: 1987–88

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 1996–97, 1999–2000
• Football League Cup: 1997–98
• FA Charity Shield: 2000
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98
• UEFA Super Cup: 1998

Millwall

• FA Cup runner-up: 2003–04 (as player-manager)

Individual Awards

• Chelsea Player of the Year: 1997–98, 1999–2000
• Alan Hardaker Trophy: 1998

As a Manager

Individual Awards

• Football League One Manager of the Month: August 2007, September 2007
• Football League Two Manager of the Month: August 2006

Images for kids

• 

  Dennis Wise in 2018.

See also

In Spanish: Dennis Wise para niños