August 2 - Not Very Wise

Sir Alex Ferguson once said that Dennis Wise could ’start a fight in an empty house’.
Leicester City were agreeing with him today in 2002, as they sacked the midfielder following his fracas with team mate Callum Davidson on the Foxes’ pre-season tour of Finland.

Wise had signed for Leicester after Claudio Ranieri realised his pre-Abramovich squad of has-beens wasn’t going to bring the title to Stamford Bridge in 2001. The fact that Wise had been convicted of assaulting a taxi driver in 1995 and missing 15 games though suspension in the 1998/99 season probably had a factor in the Tinkerman’s decision too.

Wise joined Leicester in 2001 and during his year-long spell at the club he cemented his place in the Foxes’ hall of shame, long with manager Peter Taylor who brought him in. City were doing as so many clubs in the ITV Digital age did and spending beyond their means, going into administration in 2002, just after moving into their new stadium, with debts of over £30m.

Wise’s most famous act as a Leicester City player was not on the pitch, but, as his predecessor Stan Collymore, on a pre-season tour. Leicester bosses obviously believed Finland would be a peaceful pre-season retreat where the squad could mix a spot of training with some chillaxing in saunas.

How wrong they were. Throughout his career Wise’s little-man complex has been never been far from the surface and it was back with a vengeance in Scandinavia. A spot of late night cards erupted into a brawl, as Wise and a still-unnamed player went at it. Defender Callum Davidson stepped in to try and act as a peacemaker, but Wise was having none of it.

According to rumours at the time Wise was so unimpressed by the Scottish international’s glasnost take on the situation that he attacked him whilst he was sleeping, breaking his nose and jaw.

In an online biography he would later claim that is tenure at Leicester was a “less successful” time in his life. After his subsequent sacking Wise’s fate interwined with the one club that was happy and deserving enough to have him: Millwall.

Here he would become player manager and take them to the 2004 FA Cup Final where they lost to Manchester United. Subsequent spells at Southampton and Coventry followed before he gave management a proper stab at Swindon Town and then Leeds United, before deciding to take the money and run to join the Mike Ashley (revolution).

See how much the Leicester fans like Wise in this terrace footage below and have a look at what OTFD was bringing you this time last year.

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