Dennis Wise might be approaching his 60s but the former Chelsea midfielder clearly hasn’t lost the tenacity and aggression that made him a household name in the 1990s. The former England international, 58, was involved in an altercation with former Liverpool player Jay Spearing during a Legends match at Anfield on Saturday.
Wise captained Chelsea Legends against their Liverpool counterparts, playing in a midfield that also featured Claude Makelele and John Obi Mikel. Other former stars who featured for Chelsea included William Gallas, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and an unrecognisable 37-year-old Ramires. However, it was Liverpool Legends who secured a 2-0 victory thanks to an excellent brace from the universally-popular Peter Crouch.
The retired striker, who is now best-known for his hit podcast, rolled back the years by scoring an excellent header. The 44-year-old then produced a cheeky lob to double the Reds’ advantage.
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Wise and Spearing Clash in Legends Match
Chelsea Legends captain was angry with ex-Liverpool midfielder
Dennis Wise and Jay Spearing
Credit: Liverpool
Liverpool vs Chelsea has been one of the Premier League’s more spicier fixtures over the decades and, despite their advancing years, there was no love lost between midfielders Wise and 36-year-old Spearing at Anfield this weekend. In the 28th minute of the match, Wise was left fuming with Spearing following a 50/50 challenge. Watch the incident, which prompted chuckles from the commentators and fans alike, around 1:33:15 on the following video:
The referee was quickly on the scene to prevent the situation from escalating, but Wise was clearly rattled. He was seen pointing a finger in Spearing’s direction, clearly unhappy with the force of the tackle - which is perhaps a little ironic when you consider how many opponents Wise crunched during his career.
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'Dennis Wise Was Horrible to Play Against'
Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt described playing against Wise
Dennis Wise and Paul Scholes
Former Manchester United stars Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt recently reminisced about what it was like to face the 5ft 6in central midfielder. “He [Dennis Wise] was horrible with me. He got me sent off. He pinched me in the balls and got away with it,” Butt said on the Football Greatest podcast, per the Metro.
“He got away with murder. He two-footed me in the head and when we were on the floor he’s grabbed my balls. I should’ve booted him or punched him because I got sent off anyway. I only gave him a little knee.
“He was a wind-up merchant but when you meet him outside of football he’s actually a decent bloke. He worked at Newcastle while I was there and he’s a good bloke to be fair, but on the pitch he was nasty.”
Scholes added: “Dennis Wise was horrible, weren’t he? He did some of the weirdest things ever. I remember rolling on the floor with him during a game – not fighting or anything – and he’s got his finger in my mouth. He’s trying to like rip my mouth open. He was a nasty piece of work.”