Delph før cupfinalen 2015:
Fabian Delph’s journey towards becoming a valued cog in the new England machine was accelerated in 50-50s with Dennis Wise, the spiky former international midfielder. Wise managed Leeds United as Delph emerged in 2006 and would test the teenager’s resolve during training games. “I remember him going through me,’’ smiled Delph as he prepared to fly out to Turin with England for Tuesday’s friendly with Italy.
“We used to have youth team against the staff,’’ recalled Delph of those practice matches at Thorp Arch. “It was about us showing them what we had. They did get quite tasty. Dennis Wise was the manager. I did tackle him and he tackled me back. He was great with me, gave me my debut at Leeds. I am ever so grateful to him.
“Gus Poyet was assistant at the time. He could kick a few people too.â€