INTERVIEW
01 January 1999
Wise can be quick fix to Keegan's problems
By Nigel Clarke
Not for the first time this season, Chelsea have had cause to be grateful to Dennis Wise. As a captain, he is inspirational. As the heartbeat of the team, he is irreplaceable.
The sooner he brings those qualities to the international stage, the greater chance England will have of making an impact in next summer's European Championship Finals.
At a time when national coach Kevin Keegan is searching for a left-sided player, Wise has again shown his ability to cross the ball and pass it with either foot.
He would be as comfortable playing down the left side for his country as he is when asked to operate in a similar role for his club. He is versatile enough to adjust, yet Keegan has stepped back from giving him the chance to make that problem position his own.
What Wise is good at is the basics - he can win the ball and pass it. Add to those qualities the ability to cross the ball on the run and his value to his country would be incalculable.
It was Graham Taylor who first capped Wise and then Terry Venables who emphasised that he was a far better player than he was ever given credit for.
Under Glenn Hoddle, Wise was marooned and never had a chance of playing for England, the two having allegedly fallen out when Hoddle was manager of Chelsea.
Keegan has since called Wise back into his squad but has yet to give him a start, preferring Steve McManaman, Ray Parlour, Steve Guppy, Tim Sherwood or Jamie Redknapp in a wide role.
It suggests a reluctance to go with an abrasive character. After all, Wise is judged on a reputation for indiscipline rather than inspiration.
He has collected over a dozen caps, without ever getting the opportunity of regularly sitting in on the left to do what he is best at.
But it seems that Wise is finally learning to keep out of trouble. He has grown up, knowing that time may be running out for him to achieve all he wants from the game.
After yet another compelling performance - this time in Wednesday night's 3-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday - Wise has again demonstrated his ability to influence a match. In the opening half-an-hour, Wednesday caused Chelsea plenty of problems. Then Wise, sick all week with the 'flu and still coughing and spluttering, came off the bench.
He scored the first goal, made the third and totally ran the game, making a mockery of Newcastle manager Bobby Robson's claim that Robert Lee is the best midfield player in the country.
Wise's was a performance that should see him once again in the England squad to play Argentina in February - only this time to play. Wise is in the form of his life, so perhaps Keegan should take a seat at Highfield Road next week when Chelsea face Coventry City.
His Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli says: 'He has got better since I came to the club. He has always been a good player but now he is consistent.
'He is always up for games because he has a winning mentality - and he cares so much about Chelsea. He is a leader and he makes those around him play better.
'As he gets older, perhaps he sees the need to be even more successful. He is loyal and is at a place where he belongs.' Not quite.
Where he should be is on the England left flank and it is something Keegan needs to look at in the six weeks before he announces his first squad of the new millennium.
The England boss has, after all, three games at the most to get it right before the opening fixture against Portugal in Euro 2000. And he will need to bed his starting team down in at least one of them.
So far this season, Wise has played at a level that deserves higher recognition. Now, as he anxiously awaits the birth of his first child, he can look forward with some optimism to the future.
Over to you, Mr Keegan.