Dennis Wise

Coca-Cola Championship Player of the Month February 2006

Few players have made such an impact in so few games at Coventry City. When Wise joined Coventry on a pay-as-you-play basis after being released by Southampton in January 2006 there were many unhappy fans ready to criticise the player and the manager. He won many of them over in his first game, a 6-1 win over Derby with Dennis scoring. Any remaining doubters were convinced when his spectacular overhead kick helped the Sky Blues to a win at Hull and two more goals against Brighton made it four goals in three games. He stemmed the problem of defensive organisation in midfield with his ability to break the opposition’s tempo. He had his share of disciplinary problems, picking up seven yellow cards and two one-match bans but he grabbed the team by the scruff of the neck and shook some excellent team performances out of them. An imposing character who belied his age and was probably the fittest player in the Coventry squad at the time, he had the ability to control the tempo of the game. His goal in the final minute of the final game against Cardiff City was greeted as though the club had won promotion and he was given a massive ovation by the fans after what was to turn out to be his final game as a player. Dennis left City that summer to become manager of Swindon Town but was poached by Leeds three months later. Although he couldn’t stop Leeds being relegated to the third tier it was a surprise when left them in early 2008 to join Newcastle as executive in charge of scouting.

Before joining City Wise had a glittering 20-year career appearing for Wimbledon, Leicester, Millwall, Southampton and most notably Chelsea, for whom he played almost 400 games. He won 21 full caps for England and three FA Cup winners medals, one with Wimbledon (1988) and two with Chelsea (1997 and 2000), as well as a runners up medal as player-manager of Millwall in 2004.