“I really shouldn’t have been there,” admits Andre Wisdom. The former Liverpool and Derby defender candidly recalls the evening in June 2020 when Wisdom was stabbed several times as he left a house party in Toxteth.
“I shouldn’t have gone alone, given the environment it was in, the type of party it was – not that it was a crazy party – but I grew up in similar areas,” Wisdom continues, referencing his childhood in Yorkshire. .
Then why did he go? “Familiarity – I think I felt a bit comfortable playing at Liverpool for so long. I thought I would be treated the same as in Leeds.”
Does he hate the attack? “It was more that I was angry with myself. Angry that I wasn’t more aware of avoiding that situation. Now I see it more as a lesson.”
Wisdom admits that he may have downplayed the incident at the time. “I’m quite – and that’s not a good thing – numb to these types of incidents.”
The words of Wisdom are carefully composed. He is not dismissive or trying to glorify what happened: he simply speaks his truth.
“My father was seriously stabbed when I was young. And I’ve had friends who have lost lives to shootings and violence. And so it wasn’t shocking news within my friendship group and family. People were of course concerned, but to digest it I thought, ‘oh yeah, but I’m fine’.”
Fortunately, Wisdom avoided life-threatening injuries. But the wounds to his head, chest, buttock and leg were life-changing. He “just wanted to get back to playing football as soon as possible”, and forced himself to return for the opening match of the Derby championship in September.
Wisdom started 36 league games that season, as the financially stricken club avoided relegation by one point. But his body wasn’t the same. His explosiveness was lacking, as was his ability to recover. During the defeat at Preston in April 2021, Wisdom’s groin popped. That remains the last professional appearance for the now 30-year-old.
“Even though I made the wrong decision to come back so quickly, I think it was the right decision for me at the time,” he explains, when asked if he regrets his haste.
Wisdom is talking Telegraph Sports from Cantilever Park’s house in Warrington Town. He joined the National League North in September and has just signed a season-long contract.
‘How I grew up was quite old-fashioned’
He is an articulate, committed companion and has clearly always known his own mind. Even as a young child, Wisdom insisted on living with his grandmother rather than splitting time between his parents. “That was the best thing for me,” he says. “I had a routine. I like routine. I like schedule. I like to be on time. I like things in their place. If I want something, I will do anything to get it.
“The way I grew up was quite old-fashioned. It was ‘do what your elders say’. I had a different view. I was wondering. I wasn’t a bad kid, but I was someone who would speak my mind.
“In a respectful way. Nothing rude. I didn’t kick off, nothing like that. I was very clear. I think I was more observant than anything and my personal approach is ‘practice what you preach’. When I didn’t see that happening, I started to take over my own life.”
It’s that inner drive that led to Wisdom scoring on his debut for Liverpool as a teenager under Brendan Rodgers in 2012; to captaining the England U21s; and to eventually sign for Derby for £4.5 million in 2017.
However, when his Pride Park contract expired in 2021, he did not commit himself to a football return. “I used to get a call all the time, just because I was in football for so long,” he says. Among the callers were Birmingham City, Sheffield United and Portsmouth.
“I told them I was nowhere near fit for football, and they said: ‘Come on anyway’. With my experience I can get through the preseason games. With respect, I can do that in my sleep.
“But the demands of week in, week out – when you have to play during the week and train every day – would have been difficult for me at that time.”
Instead, Wisdom used MMA, kickboxing and wrestling to get back to his fighting weight. He played little football games just for fun. Then a conversation with Bohan Dixon – an old friend and now Warrington team-mate – quickly escalated into a training session. That became a temporary deal. “I didn’t even know what I was drawing, which is actually bad! I just wanted to play.”
And now? The initial aches and pains subside and Wisdom’s competitive fitness returns. “Every football player will know what I’m talking about,” he says. “Some mask it better, but you get two five-minute periods in every game where you feel like, ‘I could leave here, I’m so tired.’ I’ve been blowing for about eight minutes now!”
There is a huge gap between where Wisdom started and where he is now. While Anfield’s new level takes the stadium’s capacity to 61,000, Warrington is racing to crowdfund a 182-seat demountable stand before March 2024. Failure means automatic demotion.
But Wisdom seems happy, both in himself and in his environment. You don’t seem to need the bells and whistles of professional football? “I would love the bells and whistles, believe that!” Wisdom replies with a grin. “Don’t post that…people won’t pay me anything!”
Okay, but you’re not flashy? “Because I started young, I now have all that out of my system. Playing football for the money, or for the life it brings – the fame, these kinds of interviews, TV – doesn’t really appeal to me.”
What seduces Wisdom, however, is a natural love for the game. “Not me need to return to professional football. Will I love it? A hundred percent. Will I work hard? Yes. Do I want that? Yes. But I don’t need It.
“I’m happy with where I am now. That will probably lead me to the things that are meant for me. I do it out of love. I don’t have to fulfill anything now.”