Dennis Wise is a Chelsea legend, one who will be attending the annual Chelsea Pitch Owners' Lunch next Friday, so the official Chelsea website thought it a perfect time to catch up with our former captain.

But there was another reason we wanted to speak to the club's second most successful skipper of all time. Read on to find out why…



In 1994 an ambitious 14-year-old arrived at the Chelsea training ground entrance, raring for an opportunity to prove his talent among the many outstanding stars already plying their trade here.

After a few years playing in the Academy, the youngster left school and was made a full-time apprentice. That's when he was handed a brush and assigned the boots of some of the club's most influential players.

One of those players was a man born in west London. Chelsea through-and-through, he was a combative yet skilful midfielder who cemented his place in the club's hall of fame.

In 11 years with the Blues, he was a man who won Player of the Year twice; a man who scored the most Chelsea goals in his second season at the club; a man who became our most successful captain and our fourth all-time highest appearance maker, a man they call Dennis Wise.

Wise continued to be Chelsea's highest achieving captain until last May, FA Cup Final day, when his record was surpassed and the honour fell to another through-and-through Blue.

It fell to the same youngster who had been handed Wise's boots all those years before, who had arrived as a fresh faced 14-year-old three years after Wise had been Chelsea's highest scorer of the season. It fell to John Terry.

Terry has beaten Wise's haul of six trophies with two FA Cups, two Premier League titles and two League Cups, all before winning his second Community Shield as captain in August.

Now JT's sights are on another landmark in his Chelsea career, captaining the Blues for the second highest number of games. He reaches 299 if he plays this weekend, beating Wise's 298 match total.

The record is still held by Ron 'Chopper' Harris, who captained the Blues on 324 occasions, but despite the possibility of being knocked from second place, Wise couldn't be happier.

'It's fantastic,' said the once competitive midfielder. 'People are always at some stage going to break your records and achieve something and if there's one person I'd like to see do it, it would be John.

'He has come all the way through and done fantastically well, I'm chuffed to bits for him. He is a true Blue and a boy who always wanted to achieve a lot as a young kid.

'All those times he spent out there on his own, training and doing what he could to make himself better, have paid off, so well done to him.'

Anyone who works closely with Terry always has the same response when you ask about his captaining qualities, he's a born leader.

But add to that natural talent the experience of working under the greats Chelsea had to offer, no more so than Wise himself, then it is no wonder our number 26 went on to not only captain Chelsea, but his nation as well.

'There was a lot of influence for him. There was Robbie, there was Franco, Luca, Marcel, Ruud, he worked with some real top players,' explains Wise, speaking of Di Matteo, Zola, Vialli, Desailly and Gullit.

'Those players are a lot better than me but I was different in the way I went about things.

'He has probably learned and taken bits from all of us, thinking that's right, that's not right, he has taken the best bits but obviously when you are a leader you have your own personality.

'I had my own personality, John will have his and the next captain that comes along will have his as well.'

It's that personality which has combined with the experience he's gained to produce the most successful Chelsea captain of all time.

Even as an apprentice, cleaning the boots of Wise and Desailly, it was clear there was something different about our defensive stalwart, but despite seeing the talent that lay in the young Terry's legs, Wise could never be sure he would turn out to be captain.

'He was a leader, but you never know these things. He was only a young boy and there was a long, long way for him to go.

'You can never turn around and say they'll become captain because you could get injured or there are all sorts of things that can happen to you.

'The good thing is that he has come through and done exceptionally well. If there is one person you are pleased to be captain and take over your whole appearances and achievements then it's John, because he's a home grown success who has always wanted to do it.

'And he was certainly one of the best boot cleaners I ever had, it was between him and Jody [Morris], I had Jody as well. They were both very good to be honest.

'Two great lads, both of them had a lot of character about them and you could see they had a lot of guts as well. They always had the chance of really succeeding, you could tell from the moment you met them.'

There was a time when the Chelsea training ground would erupt with laughter following the latest instalment of a Dennis Wise prank. Today the same situation often occurs, the only difference being the culprit of the practical joke.

Once training is over, and the serious business done, Terry is known for his jovial outbursts, which often arrive in an array of wind-ups.

So was this a captain-to-captain inheritance, a secret skill that is handed down along with the armband? Although Wise had left for pastures new by the time Terry took up the captain's role, did they ever plot an escapade together?

'I don't think so,' says Wise after pondering the question.

'He was a young man who liked to enjoy himself, he liked a giggle, but we all like a giggle going into work. We don't want to sit there and not be very inventive in having a joke; it's always good banter so long as it is taken in the right manner.

'It's good that he has that character though because it just breaks the ice.

'In Italy and places like that it is a very serious place to play. I remember Franco, Robbie and Luca saying, when they first came here and we got them at it a few times, that it helped them relax.

'It is important, more than anything, to make them realise it is a good environment and we want to enjoy ourselves but more than anything is that there's a seriousness to it. That seriousness has to be done, that's that, but it's good to have a bit of banter afterwards.'

Speaking of banter, comedian Bobby Davro will be joining impressionist Jon Culshaw at this year's annual Chelsea Pitch Owners lunch. An event Wise will also be attending next Friday.

It's the first time the former Blue has been able to come to the annual event, which is now in its 14th year, and he's looking forward to a return to Stamford Bridge and the Chelsea fans.

'It's going to be brilliant to see a few of the lads,' exclaims Wise.

'Jimmy [Floyd Hasselbaink] and Tore [Andre Flo] are going. It'll be nice; it's always nice to do these things.

'At one stage I was director of CPO a long time ago when Ken Bates put it all in motion. I have never been before, I have been asked a lot of times but have never been able to go.

'It raises money for a worthy cause and does it well, which is really good. The fans treat me well too, they're always really nice, so I'm really looking forward to it.'

The money raised from the event will go towards the Past Players' Trust, but one man who won't be able to make it, who Wise still manages to see personally, is former midfielder Gustavo Poyet.

The Uruguayan followed Wise into management, becoming his assistant at Swindon Town before the duo moved onto Leeds.

After that Poyet joined Tottenham Hotspur and a fairly unsuccessful posting under Juande Ramos, although he did help guide the side to a Carling Cup win over the Blues in 2008.

In October of that year he parted company with Spurs and began the search for a new position. Twelve months later he landed the role of manager at Brighton and Hove Albion on a one-and-a-half year contract.

'It's really great for Gus; he's wanted to get a managing job for a long time. It's something he's always wanted to do.

'Hopefully he has learned some good parts off me, because obviously when he first came into it he watched and wanted to get his feet in there slowly and then get into it.

'I hope he does well. I don't know how he'll do, it depends on the personnel you have as well and the players you have, but it's something he has a real desire to want to do well in.

'I wish him all the best. He has already had a good result, they beat Southampton 3-1 on the weekend, so hopefully it continues and he does well.'

By Christian Collison

You can come and see Dennis Wise and many other ex-Chelsea stars at this year's Chelsea Pitch Owners' Annual Lunch next Friday (27 November), for which there are still a few tickets remaining.

For more information or to book your place call 020 7957 8267, email cpoinfo@chelseafc.com or click here.