10 Chelsea Heroes Whose Careers Have Nosedived Since Leaving

4. Dennis Wise

Many captains and managers plying their trade in the lower leagues have aspirations of one day leading their side in an FA Cup final. Three years after Dennis Wise left Stamford Bridge, the former Chelsea midfielder managed to realise both dreams simultaneously as player-manager of First Division side Millwall. It was a feather in the cap for the 37 year old and a moment of pride for the entire Wise family - even if the team was inevitably crushed 3-0 by Manchester United in one of the most one-sided FA Cup finals in recent memory. Aside from that fleeting moment of pride for Wise, there was nothing in his last five years as a professional footballer that indicated he was scaling the same heights that he was at Stamford Bridge as stints at Leicester City, Millwall, Southampton and Coventry City failed to capture the imagination. It was understandable, of course, as he had left Chelsea as a 34 year old midfielder after eleven years of bone-crunching tackles and consistent rough-housing in the centre of the Stamford Bridge park. He had signed for a then-club record fee of £1.6 million in July 1990, and his partnership with notorious hardman Vinnie Jones in the middle of the pitch struck fear in the heart of Premier League opposition the length and breadth of the country. He was instated as captain within three seasons, and led the club to only their second ever FA Cup triumph in 1997. He finished his time with Chelsea with two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners€™ Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, a Football League Cup and a Charity Shield and was an instrumental part of Chelsea€™s resurgence in the late 90€™s.