A manager’s legacy at any football club may be something more closely examined when the dust settles further down the line but following the departure of Dennis Kutrieb earlier today, it is clear that the football club and supporters owe the German a huge amount of gratitude for the work he has achieved since arriving in DA11 during the summer of 2020.
It is the fate of pretty much every manager in the game that one day, their time at a club will be no more. But that shouldn’t ever diminish the success he has brought in the months and years up to that point – and nobody can deny the success that the Fleet have enjoyed under Dennis.
Cast your minds back just over three years to a football situation and wider world reeling from the effects of the pandemic with no clear roadmap as to the immediate way forward. In walked a manager with no direct experience of the English non-league game whose first hurdle was the demotion of the club by a division because of a points-per-game calculation.
Recruited by the club’s hierarchy after a painstaking search across Northern Europe for a coach that fit the bill and the ambitions of the club, Dennis was a surprise choice and one which many in the non-league game greeted with a question mark but his CV promised promotions and attractive football. And on that promise, he delivered.
He pursued a necessary squad rebuild over the next few months with a real fervour and swiftly conquered an initial language barrier, embracing the job by moving into the local area and immersing himself in the task at hand.
Fleet were on an upward curve when the continuing problems of lockdown – a huge problem for any manager that season, never mind one fresh from another country in his first season in the job – called a halt to the campaign.
Dennis and assistant Chris Franks used their time wisely to build an even better squad that summer. In a competitive division, there were hurdles along the way but the 2021/22 season ended impressively and the club secured third place and a promotion final berth. The events of that day are, of course, woven into our memories but the disappointment of being just minutes from promotion only drove the Fleet management pair to new heights in the following campaign.
2022/23 was quite unlike any season Fleet fans had seen before, certainly in the recent past. Only our fifth title in 77 years followed and our first for more than two decades, delivered by a squad that once again Dennis had added to and improved that summer.
Numerous records were broken for wins, points, winning runs, goals scored, individual goalscorers – the list was a long one as Fleet cantered to the title in an astonishing run of wins in 2023. Having narrowly lost out to Leyton Orient in the Emirates FA Cup the previous season, the Fleet also went one better and achieved Second Round status after a 19-year gap. The ITV cameras put the club on the national map.
To add to numerous manager-of-the-month accolades, Dennis was named Manager of the Year and hit the ground running in the National League to deliver another TV-friendly victory at Rochdale. Alas, the results leading into and following the new year were such that time has today been called on the Kutrieb era but a huge victory at Oldham along with comprehensive wins over Aldershot, Kidderminster, York City and Boreham Wood continued to show the best of what the Fleet squad had to offer.
Dennis and Chris made huge personal sacrifices in their time with the Fleet and what is seen on the pitch is only half of what they have contributed in a professional and personal capacity behind the scenes. Much of the hard work, sheer determination and willingness to win are not seen in public – they immersed themselves in this football club for every waking moment of the past three-and-a-half years and were always accessible to supporters, sponsors and media. They were not just managers and coaches at the Fleet but friends of the club who built relationships that will last beyond their tenure in the job.
There is much they have our gratitude for at the football club and it goes without saying that we wish them all the best wherever life takes them next.
CEO Damian Irvine on behalf of the board and club added, “When we set the task of identifying and appointing the manager to take the club forward from some very difficult times in early 2020, we had a clear standard, image and expectation of what we wanted to achieve in a best case scenario. As we say goodbye today, the most succinct way to thank Dennis is to say he delivered on those expectations and did so in a fashion that was a pleasure to work with. The work ethic and commitment shown to Ebbsfleet United was unprecedented and hugely appreciated by the board, chairman, CEO and all staff.”
