INTERVIEW

Dennis leaves menace behind (Grauniad)
Jon Brodkin at Wembley
Thursday February 24, 2000

Short but sweet, the Wiseacres are proved wrong as Dennis leaves menace behind

The 'naughty but nice' imp of midfield repays trust of Keegan

Asked once to describe himself, Dennis Wise responded with a single word: short. So while it would be wrong to suggest he left here last night with his head high, the Chelsea captain could afford one of his impish grins. This was Dennis largely without the menace. Even the tunnel was still standing at the end.
Sure, there was the customary booking for a foul on Cristian Gonzalez but this was a controlled, impressive display by Wise on his first international start for five years.

Having repaid Kevin Keegan's trust with a busy performance in front of the defence, it would be a surprise to find him omitted from the Euro 2000 squad. Keegan explained he wanted the "good things" and largely he got them.

The evening had begun promisingly for Wise. In the lead-up to such a big match he was presumably warned by Keegan to steer clear of the bottle. Sure enough, to the relief of team-mates and opponents, he took the field without Lucozade in his hand. Sensibly, it was one of England's backroom staff who handed him a drop of the isotonic stuff before kick-off and quickly whipped the bottle away.

Lining up for the national anthems beside the 6ft 3in Martin Keown, Wise was his usual bundle of energy. It was clear the last thing the Chelsea captain wanted was to be standing still.

So it must have surprised no one that not even a lost boot, sustained in a challenge with Argentina's captain Roberto Sensini, prevented him playing on early on. Immediately Wise was on his feet, looking for a pass, controlling the ball with his left sock. More of a shock was that it took fully a dozen minutes for the 33-year-old to receive his first talking-to from the German referee. That was for a characteristic welcome-to-Wembley challenge on Juan Veron. Just to prove he was on his best behaviour, Wise extended a hand to the Lazio midfielder. He likes to see himself as "naughty but nice".

Certainly there was plenty to admire in his early contributions. At Wimbledon he was known as The Rat - always nibbling at you, John Fashanu explained - and he rarely gave Argentina space to breath. Nipping in with neat interceptions, playing simple passes, rarely wasting possession, he was in his element. All mixed in, of course, with the odd foul.

Although he gradually dropped deeper into a holding role he displayed an impressive range of passing and was involved in several of England's best moments. Three times in the first half he released Emile Heskey with perceptive through-balls. It was from his right-wing cross that Heskey headed wide.

But no Wise contribution is complete without a yellow card and it duly arrived in the 46th minute, though that did not take the competitive edge off his game. Straight away he was clattering into an opponent, cajoling team-mates with words and clenched-fist salutes. After all the questions, Keegan could afford to feel Wise after the event.