INTERVIEW

The growing pains of Dennis Wise, 32
Amy Lawrence meets Chelsea's eternal youth
30 Jan 1999


Cheeky chappy, chirpy cockney, how's your father, all right darling, hello mate, what do you mean 'off' are you mad?, okay in the back of the cab. Now.

For some reason people have a fixed image of Dennis Wise. The cumulative effect of the odd scrap out on the field and ocassional scrape out on the tiles means he is easily pigeon-holed. Prepare to meet his alter-ego: when Chelsea's combative captain is on his best behaviour he is a picture of amenable politeness, he comments thoughtfully on the game, he comes across as surprisingly low-key, and, he can even express sympathy for referees. 'Yes, I'm quite   chirpy,' he says, 'but I'm quite serious too.' When Wise puts on his earnest front it sounds very credible, but the trouble is he doesn't always look it. The glint in his eyes is so incandescent there could be a diamond mine in the sockets. Here is an example. On the subject of this afternoon's match at Arsenal - one that has a significant say in the destiny of the Premiership title as well as Capital pride - he declares, casually, it is 'one of the important   ones'. True enough. But the fireworks in his eyes and the smirk covering his face tells you it means so much more.

This fixture tends to be a spicy affair, which seldom finishes with the full complement of players on the pitch (four off in the last six meetings). The bookies are taking odds on the   number of red cards Highbury could yield. 'Oh, please. . . ' murmurs the man who has had his marching orders three times already this season. 'If I got sent off I dread to think how many matches I would get.' Current rules mean bans are increased by the number of previous dismissals.

Naturally, Wise dislikes that rule. 'It's very annoying being punished twice,' he scowls. But other than that gripe he is remarkably fair about the early bath. 'In this day and age if you want to be able to press teams and tackle teams and win the ball back early, then you are going to mistime a few tackles. Nowadays, if you mistime two tackles you're off. You don't get a chance.

'I played at Everton, I made two tackles and I was off after 30 minutes. And they weren't malicious tackles, they were just . . . tackles.' He says the word with boyish innocence, as if he were talking about soft, gooey marshmallows. That's what happens when referees don't have too much leeway - they need to be given a little bit more space. They are only trying to do their job and we're only trying to do ours.' Take a bow Dennis Wise the voice of reason.   He believes a certain type of player is always more prone than others to punishment from football's Law Lords in black. It's not victimisation, it's style of play: Paul Ince, David Batty, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira (completes a suspension today), Emmanuel Petit (starts one next week) and Wise. Are the current card-happy conditions going to herald the demise of ball-winners with bite? 'I don't think we'll lose them but they won't play as many games, like I found out this year. It drives you mad, but I'll keep doing what I do, as will Ince, Vieira, Petit. It's in you and you have to do it.'

Supporters at Stamford Bridge reckon because of his bad boy reputation his ability is glossed over. During one minute of the FA Cup tie at Oxford we saw Wise at his very best; bending in a brilliant shot, and 10 seconds later back on the edge of his own box with a crucial block.    His was just about the only decent performance from the Londoners that night. Chelsea have been below par recently - outplayed in their last two games, they looked a grey, winter shadow of their colourful autumn form. Enter Lady Luck in the form of last-minute goals to force a
fortuitous three points against Coventry and a Cup replay with Oxford. 'When you have a bad patch you usually lose games but we've won or drawn, so our bad patch ain't been that bad,' smiles Wise.

The big question is whether Chelsea have a worse patch to come. Wise thinks the opposite, claiming: 'We don't actually think we've played to our best yet. We feel we can do better. Sometimes we lose a little bit of concentration, and if we can keep that going for 95 minutes we'll be a lot better. But, if you're going to win things, you need to have that bit of luck with you and it is Lucky Chelsea at the moment.' Luck seems to be a recurrent theme for Wise, who gives the impression he still cannot quite believe he's in the same side as players like Gianfranco Zola, Marcel Desailly, Roberto Di Matteo. 'I'm very fortunate,' he says, face full of impressionable awe, 'and when I grow up and have a kid I can tell him I played with players like that.' When he grows up? He's 32, for goodness sake. When he has to cut short the interview for a dentist's appointment he apologises and giggles, like a naughty child who fixes you with a big impish grin. It feels like a lame excuse, but on the subject of dental care   most people would save the tooth fairy's touch until after they had played against those so-called 'scrappers' from Arsenal. Not Wise. 'We'll be up for it and I'm sure they'll be up for it. On the day it's who has the luck.' Might Finnish prodigy Mikael Forssell provide this week's   stroke? Although Gianluca Vialli is doubtful, it must be said he is yet to score a Premiership goal this season, and should Forssell get his chance - and take it with the distinction Wise is convinced he possesses - that could be another blessing.

Critics suggest Chelsea should buy a striker to capitalise on their position. There is an intriguing parallel with Arsenal's position a year ago - with Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright   absent and fans crying out for signings, Nicolas Anelka emerged to prove a decisive influence.    It was unfortunate for Chelsea that their most successful season ever, a European Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup double, should be overshadowed by the haul at Highbury. As Wise remarks: 'Theirs was a bit in front of ours, but if we can share another four trophies this year we'll be happy again. We feel we're good enough to qualify for the Champions League and win a cup. So that's why it's such a big game and why we want to do extremely well against   them.' The sparklers in his eyes ignite once more.