|
 |
 |
|
|
You are in: Sports Talk |
|
|
|
Wednesday, 18 September, 2002, 17:35 GMT 18:35 UK
What now for Dennis Wise?
Millwall come in for Dennis Wise, sacked from Leicester City for breaking team-mate Callum Davidson's jaw.
Would a move to the New Den be good for Wisey? This debate is now closed. Wise's contract was terminated by Leicester after he fractured team-mate Callum Davidson's jaw in an incident on the club's pre-season tour of Finland. The decision was initially overturned by a Football League disciplinary panel, but they later relented and agreed Leicester had a right to sack the fiery midfielder. Millwall chairman Theo Paphitis has reportedly agreed a deal to sign Wise - but the player's agent is stalling Millwall, in case a better offer comes along.
What should Wise do next?
I don't know what we are doing signing Wise, I really don't! We let three players go in the summer to cut the wage bill (although we have since brought one back), and now we are signing a player who will be on big money, not to mention the bad publicity he is already bringing our club. Dennis Wise is the sort of player you will love, however, when he plays for your club, he shows a bit of fight (literally) and some passion - basically everything you want.
In the past he has got away with a fair few 'incidents', but he wont get away with anything at Millwall due to the close eye the media will be keeping on him and the club. Is it really worth it from Millwall's point of view, paying big wages and risking even more bad headlines? I think not!
Having said that, if he signs for us I will support him as he will be wearing a Millwall kit - support him until/if he does something wrong.
Well, if he doesn't make the team sheet at Millwall he can always climb over the barrier and join the rest of the hooligans.
Dennis Wise is a Chelsea legend and Stamford Bridge should take him back into the fold. He would make a great trainer or coach as he absolutely loves the Blues. If not, I hope he is successful at Millwall. He never played with anything but unreserved passion. We need more like him.
Is it that strange to see Wise sign for Millwall? Not really, the little thug has finally found his niche. The Premiership is much richer without this waste of space. I know this sounds harsh, but think about it, how many talented and modest youngsters would kill for the opportunities he has had?
For a club that was described by its chairman as being short of money, the signing of Denis Wise is to say the least a shock. What has happened to the "policy" of signing younger players with something to prove and who want to progress?
Let's hope there is a clause in his contract that he will not be paid for the inevitable period of suspensions.
Well done Leicester! At last, football seems to be returning to life in the real world, or do I speak to soon. If Eric Hall wants to take his "monster, monster legal action" then let him. If I was a judge I'd laugh him out of court. I just cannot believe that Leicester had to appeal to get his contract terminated. Player power has for once been overturned, and rightfully so. It's outrageous a player can treat a contract as if it is virtually non-existent, yet when a club wishes to terminate a player's employment for assaulting a colleague they are told they are not allowed to do such a thing. Surely "assault" would constitute a charge of gross misconduct in any contract. Today's contracts are all about players financially handcuffing themselves to clubs and fans, while insisting they own the only set of keys should they need a way out. The system needs an overhaul and the sooner the better.
And thank goodness he's not coming to Watford. We don't want him!!
As a Millwall season ticket-holder, the moronic and reactionary comments of 'birds of a feather' and such is an insult to myself and the other Millwall members/season ticket-holders, who have been vetted by the police to go and watch my team this year. I am not a hooligan, I have no hooligan links, I just support my local team. Millwall have decided to sign a combative midfielder who can not only play a bit, but shore up central midfield, a position we have been crying out for - nothing more, nothing less. Man Utd did not get rid of Cantona when he waded into the Selhurst Park crowd because they knew they would be a weaker side with out him, Millwall have done exactly the same.
If Dennis is a success at Millwall all this will go away, and if he is not, he is only signed till the end of the season. From a personal point of view I think we will rocket up the league table because he, whatever you say about him, is a winner, and that is what every team needs. Just don't play cards with him!
The only good move for Wise would be into retirement.
Millwall, their supporters and Dennis Wise deserve each other. Hopefully this will result in their relegation, and in due course they will find themselves where they belong...out of business.
I just wanted to point out to Kerim from Kent that Dennis Wise was found not guilty of assaulting the cab driver. I do agree with the majority of the comments made, but in the interests of fairness I thought I should put the record straight.
As for Leicester City, they have acted perfectly reasonably. If one of the office staff at the club had broken a colleague's jaw I imagine that they would be awaiting a court appearance and that other employers would not be queuing up to acquire their services.
Dennis Wise: an intelligent midfielder and a winner. He is dirty player also, always trying to get an opposing player sent off and trying to influence referees' decisions. Millwall are trying to clean up their image, a player like Wisey will incite the fans with over-enthusiasm.
Denis Wise can think himself lucky. He could have been charged with a serious criminal offence. Leicester were right to sack him. Now he is going to the New Den, where any example he sets may reflect badly on a club whose supporters are not renowned for their good behaviour.
I think that Leicester were spot on to sack Denis Wise. He can't get away with hitting a fellow colleague. With the wage he's been on and the effort he has put into playing for Leicester City, it's about time the thuggery and little man syndrome was stopped.
When Millwall's chairman said Wise was the kind of player than Millwall's fans would adore, it was one of the truest statements I've ever heard from a football official. As I'm sure Callum Davidson will attest, Wise should fit in nicely with the Millwall "fans".
Wise was a waste of money at Leicester, no doubt about that. I think the incident that happened with Davison was just the right excuse for the board to sack him and not waste £35,000 on him every week.
A move to Millwall could be his last chance before retirement looms. I say go for it Wisey, it's your last chance.
What's the fuss all about!!! If it were Roy Keane, Alan Shearer or Alan Smith they would get a pat on the back. In life, one out of every four children needs a firmer pair of hands and that's Dennis Wise's case.
Leicester City used the situation as excuse to get him off their wage bill, imagine if they where still in the Premiership??
As a Millwall supporter, I can say that I am far from happy to read about my team's intention to sign Wise. Firstly, I believe Leicester were perfectly correct to sack him.
Secondly, it was reported that due to general financial problems, wages were frozen at the Den, denying a lot of good young players wage increases that their performance last season merited. If it is true that Millwall are willing to pay £10,000 per week to secure the services of Wise, I feel it would be far better to share this amount among existing players or try to sign Kevin Davis on a permanent basis.
Lastly, if Millwall want to sign a thug, why not just throw his shirt into the crowd; it would be much cheaper!!
Glad to see these comments displaying sense. How can we expect to stamp out hooliganism in the stands when we have classic football hooligans on the pitch?
In disciplinary terms, football is in a mess. Woodgate, Keane, Vieira, Fowler, Tiatto, Dunne, Bellamy - to name but a few. Finally a club has stood up and taken action. Wise is just another example of a gifted individual who managed to under-achieve by virtue of a somewhat misguided interpretation of aggression.
Biting a member of the opposition was bad enough but deliberately causing (serious) harm to a teammate just demonstrates the temperament of Wise. Justice was done and good riddance.
Come on Steve (below)! "What if Davidson had not sustained any other injury other than, say, a bruise/black eye? Would they have sacked him?" That's like saying someone attempted to shoot him, but it's ok because they missed.
As far as him taking Leicester to court...he played 16 times, got paid a load of money and offered to 'go quietly for half a million!' It's behaviour like this that has seen the cheap foreign imports enter our game at the expense of several youth systems.
What on earth are Millwall doing? They are supposedly trying to address problems with some of their own fans' violence, yet they are eager to sign some one who has a history of thuggery. What sort of example is this to their followers?
I heartily agree with the majority of comments. Wise deserved to be sacked, but unfortunately he will probably escape a criminal conviction. Even if convicted, he probably wouldn't face prison due to his 'privileged' position (and despite Tony Adams going to jail for drink driving).
I can't really believe Dennis Wise reached his jaw. Did he take a ladder with him on the trip or what?
I must say, I'm more than a little surprised. I would have thought that the likes of Wise would be the last player Millwall would want to attract to their hooligan-ridden club.
With his past exploits off the pitch, including incident of assaulting an elderly cab driver and smashing up his cab, as well as the more recent fracturing of Callum Davidson's jaw, I'm sure that his signing sends out the sort of message that the majority of Millwall's fans will not want to be associated with - thuggery pays!
So Wise is going to Millwall. Birds of a feather...
I see a successful career as a cab driver for the little fellow, with a little bit of extra work at Christmas as one of Santa's little elves, or a part in Snow White in panto.
Dennis Wise was a very good player for a couple of seasons at Chelsea - but unfortunately, his lack of football skills were substituted for animal-like behaviour on and off the park.
Not condoning what he has done for a minute, but ask yourself these questions - what if Davidson had not sustained any other injury other than, say, a bruise/black eye? Would they have sacked him? If other clubs sacked people for arguments/scuffles, how many cash-strapped clubs would have too small an amount of players to put out a team? Is Wise being punished for having a good punch? Should Shearer be sacked for kicking Neil Lennon in the head - or is it only if you injure someone from your own company (sorry, club)?
Leicester have offloaded a £3m gambling debt - they knew he wasn't Wayne Sleep...Leicester City stinks to high heaven over this and I hope Wise takes them to court and wins.
Of course it is right to sack Denis Wise. If I fought with a work colleague I would be sacked on the spot. Why should he be different?
Let's look at this for what it is. Mr Wise works for a company. He punches one of his fellow employees. The victim is not punished in any way by the company, which tells us that he had done nothing wrong. Mr Wise gets sacked for his actions. I fail to see what the dispute is here.
What next? Retire.
I am deeply disturbed that the players union, the PFA, did nothing to support Callum Davidson who, let's not forget, suffered most in all of this, but were backing the League's kangaroo court decision to reinstate Wise!
It's clear that none of the ruling bodies or associated organisations in football can be considered impartial.
All you political do-gooders who are applauding Leicester thinking that they took this decision based purely on morality are missing the point (as usual). Leicester are skint! If they were still a Premiership team Wise would still be playing for them. And that, my friends, is highly immoral and really what this debate should be about.
Wise deserved to be sacked, but in this politically correct world within which we seem to live let's at least maintain a degree of perspective and common sense.
Why does Gordon Taylor persist in defending Wise when his energies would be better placed looking after another one of his PFA's member's and the innocent party in this debacle - Callum Davidson? This whole episode has basically showed that Taylor is more interested in supporting the thuggish behaviour demonstrated by a so called professional.
Dennis has burnt his last bridge in top flight football. Next stop will be non-league or just living off all that income. He has done well in his career but perhaps this is a sign to call it a day.
There are a myriad of players that are much better in his position who don't have small-man syndrome!
Whilst I totally agree with the action that has been taken by Leicester, I have to question the motivation. If Leicester were financially sound and Wise a star player would the same punishment have been dealt? The comparison drawn against Roy Keane earlier highlights this.
Wise was a terrific player and a big influence at Chelsea, and it's a shame his temper will be remembered more than his football. His actions were clearly well out of order, but I can't help thinking that if Leicester were not in serious financial trouble that they would have just fined him.
They clearly wanted rid of him whether he had done this or not. I wonder what Man Utd would do if David Beckham was to whack Roy Keane? I don't think they would cancel his contract, would they?
How he could possibly contemplate going back into the dressing room after what he did, I don't know. I think footballers should realise that they are employees and can be guilty off gross misconduct the same as the rest of us. Leicester are doing well without him and now can get back to problems on the field.
Well done Leicester, this was a good decision for football. It should be well within Leicester's rights for them to be able to sue Wise to pay for Davidson's salary whilst he's out injured.
The only injustice that Dennis has suffered is his oxymoronic surname! Wise has been treated more than fairly. Any other profession where you seriously assault a colleague, not only would you be sacked but you would be facing criminal charges.
Wise should now retire from football grateful for the lifestyle it has given him. Callum Davidson should now press criminal charges against Wise and Leicester should sue Wise for Davidsons wages which they will have to pay whilst he is recovering.
Thuggish behaviour such as that perpetrated by Dennis Wise is not wanted in the modern game. Not only should he have been dismissed by Leicester, but he should be paying them compensation for the temporary loss of an international defender. The man is a disgrace.
At last a football club is standing its ground and letting common sense prevail. If a few more clubs took Leicester's lead maybe a few more of these prima donas would be brought back to earth and then they might understand what a privilege they have being able to play in brilliant stadiums in front of thousands of fans and being paid!
In any other walk of life Wise would face instant dismissal - so why should footballers be treated any differently? Football does itself no favours in cases like this, so thankfully common sense (& justice) prevailed.
If Leicester had not sacked Wise, they would have left themselves open to legal action from the other player involved.
I think Wise's career at the top has finished on a very sour note, which is a shame, as he has always been an excellent footballer. As a layman, I believe that Wise has ended up receiving the correct judgement. It would be impossible for the team to function successfully bearing in mind other players' resentment if he were allowed to continue.
When will the football industry realise that it is a shop window to the rest of the world and it has an indisputable duty to uphold good standards? There are parallels here with Keane's behaviour at Manchester United and in my opinion Alex Ferguson is again not setting the right standards.
If Denis Wise really fractured the jaw of another player then he got off lightly with losing his job. Why hasn't he be charged with assault? Every job contract I have ever seen has in it a clause to the effect that an employee guilty of "gross misconduct" is liable to summary dismissal. Gross misconduct usually includes (amongst other things) striking another employee and being drunk at work.
Such clauses are widely regarded as fair and reasonable, and I'd be surprised if there weren't such a clause in Dennis Wise's contract. Having the opportunity to earn more in a week than most of us earn in a year should make him more responsible in the way he behaves.
If I came into to work and broke a colleague's jaw, I do not doubt I would be fired for gross misconduct. Hopefully Dennis has saved up a few quid from his extensive career and doesn't really need another two million quid that badly.
Added to which, there are plenty of managers who could use his skills and who have no money to spend on transfer payments. Time to close the door on it and move on with life.
I feel the correct decision has been made. There is no place in football for overpaid prima-donnas who think they are bigger than the clubs that pay them. They forget that the youth of today watches their every move, and if acts of violence are not punished severely, then kids will believe it's the norm and we'll have more violence on the terraces.
For once an overpaid footballer has been treated like any other member of the public. If I broke the jaw of a colleague at work I'd be out the door so fast my feet wouldn't touch the ground. Wise is the author of his own misfortune and deserves to be in the position he is now - unemployed.
Leicester would have taken the slightest of excuses to terminate the contract of any of their highest paid players given their financial worries. However, Dennis did fracture the jaw of a fellow team mate, which could warrant a prison sentence if police action were taken.
Dennis Wise clearly had to go - to fracture a team mate's jaw is totally unacceptable for a professional player and he deserved a dismissal from the club. If Wise was allowed to stay at Leicester the atmosphere at the dressing room would be very difficult to say the least.
The Football League's original decision was a disgrace - if one of their employees had assaulted a colleague, would they have fined him two weeks' wages and paid off the rest of his contract? Of course they wouldn't. Wise should thank his lucky stars that his mediocre talent has enabled him to earn in one week what most people earn in a year - good riddance to him.
I think Dennis Wise deserves to be sacked by Leicester City. As a model professional he should not have thumped Callum Davidson, and was stupid to think he would still be at the club. Micky Adams has done a fantastic job to rejuvenate the Blues and I believe they will regain their place in the Premiership.
After a bust-up with one of his own team-mates, I doubt that any club would be daft enough in signing the temperamental star Wise. He can look forward to sitting on the sofa and reading a Sunday paper.
Of course he should be sacked. If any other worker in this country broke a colleague's jaw they would be sacked immediately, so why not Wise?
I think Leicester were within their rights to sack Dennis Wise. I think Wise was one of the worst buys Taylor made at his time at Filbert Street, and the fans never seen any return for the massive wages paid to him.
Granted, the timing of the sacking couldn't have come at a better time for Leicester, but the timing was solely down to Denis Wise. I think all true Leicester City fans should thank Denis for his loutish behaviour, which released the club from this financial burden.
|
|
Top Sports Talk stories now:
Links to more Sports Talk stories are at the foot of the page.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
 E-mail this story to a friend |
|
|
|
Links to more Sports Talk stories |
|
|
|
||
 |
||||
 |
|
Back to top
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------ BBC News >> | BBC Weather >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |
