Known for being a tough man on the pitch, Dennis Wise has had an excellent football career – both as a player, manager and director. He is revered by Chelsea FC fans as the best part of his footballing career was with them. He rose through the ranks and became the captain of the football club before ending his contract with the club.
In 2017, he went into the jungle with other A-list celebrities for the reality show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here. Unfortunately for Wise, he couldn’t go the distance.
Who is Dennis Wise?
Born December 16, 1966 in Kensington, England, Wise is a retired English footballer and manager. He is also a former Newcastle United manager.
He started his youth team football at Southampton. In 1985 he was signed by Wimbledon as a professional footballer. During his five years at Wimbledon, he played 135 matches scoring 27 goals. Meanwhile, his first season at Wimbledon was spent on loan at Swedish club, Grebbestads IF. The ‘Crazy Gang’, as they were affectionately known, were responsible for giving Wimbledon FC the FA Cup title in 1988, against favorites Liverpool FC. Wise gave the assist Lawrie Sanchez converted in that epic encounter. His prolific talent lured Chelsea FC to sign him for a club-record fee of £1.6million in 1990.
At Chelsea, he became famous for his tough, sensible and skilful approach to football. In his debut season, he scored 13 goals in 44 games, an impressive feat for a midfielder. He went on to score 63 goals in 401 appearances. During his successful spell at Chelsea FC, Dennis Wise won two FA Cup titles, a League Cup and a Cup Winners’ Cup – with 22 caps for the English national team. His time at Chelsea FC was not without arguments off the pitch as he served a three-month prison sentence in 1995, for assaulting a taxi driver. Following the end of his days with Chelsea FC, with him making the fourth most appearances in club history,
also had spells at Millwall (as player-manager), Southampton (as player and goalkeeping manager), and Coventry (where he ended his playing career at the age of 40!) . Denis Wise had a short spell in full-time management at Leeds United between 2006 and 2008, before quitting completely.
For his contribution to the beautiful game of football, he won the Chelsea Player of the Season Awards in 1998 and 2000. He also won the Alan Hardaker Trophy for being man of the match in the 1998 EFL Cup Final, where Chelsea FC did not pick up a winner against Middlesbrough.
Who are the wife and children?
Dennis Wise married Claire Wise in 2004. She had been touted as the mastermind behind his retirement from active football. They have two wonderful children; Henry and Amber Wise. He tries as much as possible to keep a private family life.
Stint At The Reality TV Show
After living a somewhat quiet post-retirement life, Wise appeared backstage in 2017 for the British reality series ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’. He was in the show alongside fellow Chelsea FC legend Georgia Toffolo – who ended up becoming the winner.
After narrowly missing the final match, Dennis was eliminated on day 19. He was the 6th celebrity to be expelled from the jungle. His expedition got the full support of his family even though he was shocked when he received the invitation, due to the fact that he hadn’t been in the spotlight for a long time. Dennis Wise saw this as a unique opportunity and felt privileged to be cast as one of the show’s celebrities that year.
He admitted that even though his friends thought he was crazy to enter the show, it became something that added spice to the fun they had together.
How tall is Dennis Wise?
He might be 5ft 5in tall, but he doesn’t allow anyone to bully him. Wise was always square with the takers and even bigger than him. He was famous for taking on Patrick Vieira. I am an aerial challenge in 2001.