INTERVIEW

Wise man at the Bridge

30 October 1998

Chelsea have a player whose statistics prove emphatically that his presence in the team dramatically increases their chances of winning.

His name is Dennis Wise.

In all the matches they played without him last season and the early part of this one, Chelsea's woeful record was lost eight, drawn two and won five.

Wise was one of only two English players, with David Beckham, to be nominated for a UEFA award last season - a glorious period in his life when he lifted the League Cup and Cup-winners' Cup.

Unfortunately, this paragon of  footballing excellence is the same Dennis Wise who is unable to keep out of trouble.

The man Chelsea cannot afford to be without also appears to think that discipline is a dirty word, seems addicted to suspensions the wayTony Adams was to drink and is now about to miss four crucial Chelsea matches.

Barely a month after he swore that he would never be sent off again, he is in the doghouse.

'Devastated' he may well be over the consequences of his two-footed tackle on Aston Villa's Darren Byfield in the Worthington Cup-tie at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, but why can't he learn?

He is 31 and throughout his playing career he has carried with him the combined reputation of lovable rascal, snarling pit bull and inspirational captain. But he has never managed to find the diving line between controlled aggression and needless belligerence.

Talking before the season, he admitted,'It is going to be worse for aggressive midfield players this season thanks to new rules but I am not going to change my game.

'We are the type of players who tend to get booked but referees sometimes tell me that they were wrong to book me and apologise.

'My reputation comes from the Wimbledon time when we were rough and ready, and so book.'

Perhaps that idea is fuelled by the sort of tosh Chelsea chairman Ken Bates spouted when asked about the sending-off of his club captain.

'Dennis is Chelsea through and through and if you cut him open, you would find Chelsea inside but Dennis is a marked man,' said Bates.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson once marked Wise out by saying he could start a row in an empty house.

But many people would have him at the heart of the England team, adding the enthusiasm for hard work that he shows for Chelsea.

He is far from being a Glenn Hoddle favourite. It is generally accepted taht Wise will never achieve international honours under the current regime.

While Hoddle was still at Chelsea, the pair are alleged to have had a believer-disbeliever conversation which was conducted at high volume. But Wise's lack of discipline is enough to make the England coach's decision look sound. Hoddle was also his club manager when Wise was convicted of assaulting a taxi driver and then cleared on appeal.

Last season, Wise was the player most ofter booked in the Prem and so endured suspensions. It took him no time at all this season toshow that he hadn't learned his lesson.

Sent off during a friendly defeat against Atletico Madrid in Holland, Wise missed the start of the season and has subsequently picked up four cautions and Wednesday's red card in eight matches.

If it wan't so serious for Chelsea, it would be comical.

Booked at Charlton before he had even had a kick of the ball and yellow-carded against Coventry for pacing out how far he wanted the wall to retreat, Wise was still so angry about the latter booking taht he paced out the incident on the streeet that night to convince his partner that he'd been right.

After last Sunday's 0-0 draw at Leeds - when he was one of 13 cautions - he said,' I feel all refs have gone a little bit over the top this year because they have been put in the spotlight and are being judged on their results. But whether there's an assessor watching or not, they need to use commonsense.'

If he would only listen to his own words.

One single ounce of commonsense on Wednesday night and Wise wouldn't have ruled himself out of the next round against Arsenal.

Beyound that he will be absent for three games -  Wimbledon, Leicester and Southampton - from which Chelsea should reasonably expect to take nine points if their Premiership challenge is to take off.

Yet the statistics clearly show how much less likely Chelsea are to turn draws into victories and defeats into draws without Wise.

Bobby Gould, the player's manager at Wimbledon when the Dons upset Liverpool to win the FA Cup in 1988, said 'He was Dennis the Menace but we all loved him and still do. You look at him with that grin and think butter wouldn't melt in his mouth but there was always the question of discipline.

'I challenged him to control it and kept on challenging him, telling him that self-discipline was vital if he was to fulfil his potential.

'We've all contributed, with a word here or an article there, but it's something that can only be resolved by one person - Dennis himself. It's not too late.'