Dennis Wise Leaves Leeds for Gig as a Newcastle Suit

By: Martha | January 29th, 2008

Wisey flail In a move that seems to have surprised Kevin Keegan slightly, (former) Leeds United manager Dennis Wise has joined Newcastle as “super executive” (or, as people in England who aren’t Mike Ashley might call the position, general manager). According to the English press, Keegan knew that Ashley and the NUFC board were planning to build a traditional, continental-style management administration, but he reportedly had very little say about who joined that administration; one hopes the board at least made sure there hadn’t been any major falling outs back when Wise played under Keegan for England.

In addition to Wise, whose role is expect to be that of what continental clubs would call “director of football,” NUFC have also added two other men to their administrative staff: Tony Jimenez, a man who knows Wise well and has quickly built a strong reputation in making deals happen (he reportedly had a lot to do with bringing Juande Ramos to Spurs, and we all know how well that’s going), will be named club vice-president today, and Jeff Vetere, a former Real Madrid scout and English club coach, is coming on board as technical director, and will take charge of international scouting.

The big question here is obviously Wise: The other two men have proven themselves good at what the Toon have hired them to do; Wise was a firey player who has proved himself a meticulous, detail-oriented manager, but whether those things suit him to a director of football position is anyone’s guess.

The continental-style system, though, is huge step for Newcastle — too many English clubs still expect their manager to do everything, from running training, to scouting; from evaluating talent to negotiating contracts, an approach that’s patently absurd in today’s game. This way, Keegan — who will reportedly have final say on what players come into his team — will be able to focus on on-field matters, while Vetere and Wise take care of scouting, shopping and evaluations, and Jimenez makes deals happen. Basically, it’s a much-needed modernization for a very traditional club. What remains to be seen, though, is if Wise can do his job, and whether or not Keegan can cope without the sort of control to which he (and most other English managers) has become accustomed.