Ah Dennis Wise. Dear old loveable, cuddly and fluffy little Dennis Wise. The man nobody in the game will have a bad word said about. The most respected man in English football. The visionary thinker, the master tactician, the cultured, artistic little Dennis Wise.
If any of these thoughts flashed across your mind when you heard the news about Wise' appointment at St James's Park you are either mad, deranged or a Chelsea fan! This is a guy who could fall out with a room full of nuns. But that does not necessarily mean his arrival at Newcastle United is bad news.
It is certainly a strange arrival given his reputation in the game, but Wise is one of those players/managers you love if they're at your club and love to hate if they are members of the opposition. There isn't really a middle ground.
It was interesting to read the various angles people have taken with this story, from those who have argued it has been done with Kevin Keegan's support as Wise will have no involvement with the first team and those who believe it has been done behind the manager's back and will lead to conflict behind the scenes at St James's Park. Are some intent on mischief making? Surely not!
In my opinion, Keegan has reluctantly accepted the need for someone like Wise and he did know about his impending arrival when he agreed to return to the club as manager a fortnight ago. Wise will help identify players, he will look after the development of the Academy and he will conduct contract negotiations.
It is a general manager type role and is as much to help chairman Chris Mort - who has no previous football experience - as relieve the workload on Keegan.
That is crucial and Wise will be part of a new three-man management structure, - the others being some guy called Tony Jimenez a football "go to guy" and Jeff Vetere, a glorified European scout - below Mort, but separate from Keegan's sphere of influence. It is a continental type set up and, I'm afraid, only time will tell if it's going to work or whether Keegan will get annoyed with the new structure and take his ball home in a huff
Keegan will coach the team, run the team, manage the team and he will sing the theme tune, if there is one. He will also have the final say on player transfers, although there could, in theory, be problems if he and Wise disagree on the ability of an individual and one or the other goes moaning to the chairman behind the other's back.
I've got to confess, I was shocked when I heard the news about Wise, particularly as the first impression was he was going to be part of the coaching staff. But if he's going to be in a suit rather than a tracksuit and generally behind the scenes at St James's Park I'm willing to accept it might be a role needed in modern football.
Only time will tell, but one thing is sure, there is no civil war at the club as has been reported elsewhere. There might be in the future, of course, but there might also be World War Three in the Middle East and I bet that rather more worrying thought doesn't keep you awake at night so why should this?
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