Blessing in disguise?

By Stephen 18
March 4 2005

The sale of Scott Dobie to Nottingham Forest could be a blessing in disguise argues Stephen Eighteen of the Southwark News. Dennis Wise might not see it that way right now though, and even Barry Hayles has commented on the board not backing the play-off push.

It was totally understandable that Dennis Wise would be unhappy at the sale of Scott Dobie.

When the Millwall manager spent half a million pounds on the West Brom forward three months ago, he was hailed as the man most able to provide the missing link to push the Lions into the Premiership.

It was far and away the most Wise had spent on a player, and the fact that the deal could have risen to £750,000 based on appearances and promotion, suggested that he had nothing but the highest of hopes for Dobie.

Wise’s assistant, Ray Wilkins, stated shortly afterwards that Millwall’s spending was over, and that it would be unreasonable to knock on chairman Theo Paphitis’ door again this season demanding more funds.

So this was the real deal. A signing considered more important than investing in a newcomer to solve the left back problem or a winger to provide ammunition for the frontmen.

Dobie was deemed more valuable than purchasing a central midfielder to step in when Wise was unable to perform on the pitch himself.

And what with his wages as well as the fee, Wise could have instead brought in around three players for free or on loan.

Undoubtedly, this was the biggest gamble in Wise’s managerial career, and his desperation to not be proved wrong is why he insisted this week that he was unhappy with the board’s decision to sell him for £525,000 to Nottingham Forest.

And Wise certainly had a point when he said that if Dobie was to leave, it would have been better had the deal gone through on Monday, as opposed to the eve of the Brighton game last Saturday.

With Barry Hayles out with a hamstring strain, the sale was damaging short term, but long term Wise may have got lucky without even being aware of it.

Dobie was popular with some Millwall fans because he always tried his hardest. While other strikers appearing at the Den over the years relied heavily on service, Dobie would chase after every lost cause and not give his opponents any room to manoeuvre. He was also very quick.

That might have been enough for a cheap youngster brought up through the ranks, but there was far more expected of a 26-year-old Premiership-experienced near record signing arriving on high wages, and Wise knew it.

He knew it because one of his arguments for selling Neil Harris earlier in the season was that he had scored only two goals in his previous 28 appearances – of which a number were as a substitute or as a midfielder – and Dobie had managed three in an sixteen match spell that had included far more starts.

Becoming increasingly frustrated with Dobie’s form, Wise demoted him to the substitute’s bench for the home game against QPR a few weeks ago and when he did play, he was increasingly acting the bridesmaid’s role on the right wing as Barry Hayles and Danny Dichio secured the coveted centre forward spots.

And Wise needed more than that from his main man, and Dobie needed more than that as well.

Just a day before leaving to join the City Ground, he complained about not being played in attack often enough, and also revealed that his partner was struggling to settle in the south.

So while Wise told the media last weekend that he was unhappy about the sale, the reality is that he has been fortunate in no longer having to accommodate Dobie into the side to prove that he was money well spent.

The board can breath a financial sigh of relief and Wise can now bring in a couple of new faces on loan without burdening himself with the pressure of a big signing.

Too often, Wise made radical alterations to his formation and personnel to accommodate the Scot, and too often it backfired.

Now he can go back to the drawing board, look at the positions he wants to fill, and see if he can learn from the Dobie signing.

We saw Mark Quigley, a youngster from Dublin, take Dobie’s place at Brighton at the weekend, and there did not seem to be a world of difference between the two men.

Take the example of goalkeeper Andy Marshall’s punted high ball that went in Quigley’s direction after 29 minutes.

It was a very tough one to control, but he got the ball down with a sublime first touch and cut inside past a couple of Seagulls defenders.

Although he eventually ran out of room, it was a moment of magic from a teenager that, for all his effort, had not been shown by the far more experienced Dobie.

Yes, Quigley should have shot before being barged out, but there were many occasions when Dobie ran in to trouble in positions of far more promise.

Whether Quigley cuts it remains to be seen, just as it is yet to be established if Wise will be able to bring in another forward to cover Hayles’ injury.

But the Dobie sale could well be the biggest blessing in disguise Wise has ever received.