Denis Wise

Denis Wise

Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966 in Kensington, west London) is an English former football manager and player, and former Executive Director (Football) at Newcastle United.

Wise played as a central midfielder and was noted for his aggressive and highly-competitive style of play. In a career spanning over 20 years, he played for Wimbledon, Leicester City, Millwall, Southampton, Coventry City and, most notably, Chelsea. During his time at Stamford Bridge, Wise won two FA Cups, a League Cup and a Cup Winners' Cup, becoming the club's most successful captain, although has since been overtaken by John Terry.

He also played at international level for much of his career, representing England over a period of ten years. Wise won 21 caps and scored once, on his debut against Turkey on 1 May 1991. He was in the national squad for Euro 2000 and played in all three group games, against Portugal (lost 2–3), Germany (won 1–0) and Romania (lost 2–3).

In the latter years of his playing career, Wise gradually became involved in the managerial aspects of the game, starting at Millwall, where he took on the role of player-manager. He was briefly caretaker manager at Southampton, following the departure of Harry Redknapp, before he took over the reins at Swindon Town on a permanent basis. In October 2006, he was appointed manager of the then-Championship side Leeds United, who found themselves in the relegation zone. Although they were ultimately relegated, Wise reshaped his side in the close season and Leeds made an excellent start to their first season in the third tier of English football.

In a surprise career move, despite their strong position and likelihood of promotion, Wise left Leeds in January 2008 to join the newly reshaped management team at Newcastle United in an executive role, tasked with travelling around Europe and further afield identifying young players and developing the academy. Wise left Newcastle on 1 April 2009. Following the situation that led to his departure, Wise admitted "It has all had a damaging effect on my career".