Dennis WISE

Dennis Wise was one of a number of players whose recruitment to the international scene led critics to worry about the direction in which coach Graham Taylor was taking the team. However, Wise had settled down to become the fulcrum of an ever-changing but always strong Chelsea midfield and his tenacity, wit on the ball and ability to distract opponents made his presence very useful for no less than three coaches. Taylor gave him his debut in 1991 as England travelled to Izmir to take on Turkey in a qualifier for the 1992 European Championships, and Wise responded with the game's only goal which he claimed for years went in off his head, even though it was clearly an unspotted handball. For all his qualities, Dennis was unable to cement a place to call his own, and his only further opportunities under Taylor came against the USSR (the photo above is during the game) in a summer tournament - during which he was replaced by debutant David Batty - and then the Australasian tour of that summer. Wise featured in three of the four games without pulling up any trees. Taylor decided that he had better spoilers for his midfield and didn't recall him, to which many England fans were in agreement, but after the fiasco of the failure to reach the 1994 World Cup saw Taylor's exit from the job, Wise was given another chance by Terry Venables, who called him up for a friendly against Norway in May 1994.

By now Dennis was regarded as a true leader on the park in a strong Chelsea side, and though his wind-up skills still made him an opposing fans' target, he was undoubtedly a more mature player. Venables had the luxury of automatic qualification for the 1996 European Championships in his pocket - England were hosts - and therefore could chop and change and tinker as much as he wished. Wise got another cap as a sub for scoring debutant Robert Lee against Romania in October 1994 and another cap against Nigeria at the end of the year. The problem was where Dennis fitted in - he was a holding player but not a specialist; he was also creatively capable but again, not ideally suited. The likes of Paul Ince and Paul Gascoigne had these roles sewn up. With this in mind, Wise was relieved of England duty through most of 1995, returning for his ninth cap against Colombia - a 0-0 draw - and playing in further draws against Norway and Portugal. Venables took one last look in May 1996, bringing Dennis on as a sub for David Platt, before announcing his squad for the finals. Wise wasn't in it, and he would be in exile for another three years. (Matthew Rudd)

Glenn Hoddle had made Dennis Wise captain of Chelsea but during his two years in the England job he didn't once feel it necessary to call Wise up to the squad, leaving Dennis with every reason to believe his England career was over. However, a 33 year old Wise was a delighted recipient of a recall by Kevin Keegan for a friendly against Belgium in October 1999 and although he subsequently missed the sudden-death play-off games against Scotland to reach the 2000 European Championships, Dennis was maintained in the squad. He featured in three of the four friendlies prior to the trip to the Low Countries for the finals, and Keegan put him in his squad. Wise came on as a shoring up sub for Steve McManaman in the second half as England tried to repair the damage of losing a two goal lead to Portugal (the photo above is during the game), but they still lost 3-2. It was Wise's first competitive England game for almost nine years, and only his second ever. Keegan shuffled his pack for the next game against ther Germans and Dennis was a familiarly biting, cajoling midfield joker, this time with every English fan on his side, as England won 1-0.

It couldn't last though, and Wise was overrun in the final group game against Romania and was substituted by Nick Barmby in the second half. England lost 3-2 and exited, and Dennis would win just two further caps; a 1-1 friendly draw with France and a 0-0 World Cup qualifier against Finland under the caretaker managership of Howard Wilkinson following Keegan's very sudden departure after defeat to Germany in the opening qualifier. A stop-start and much discussed England career, but ultimately Wise earned his place. As a player who got better as he got older, it made sense to have him around the England camp in his later years, especially as he was playing in a multi-national Chelsea side and was capable of passing on a few tips. That does him a disservice; he was not recruited for his networking skills, because he could play a bit. His versatility was his biggest problem - he was more than competent at a number of specialist midfield roles without being a specialist himself. (Matthew Rudd)