- Birthdate: 15 May 1981
- Birthplace: Barking, Greater London, England
- Other clubs: Charlton Athletic (1997-2005), Tottenham Hotspur (loan 2003), West Ham United (2005-07), Fulham (2007-08), Nottingham Forest (loan 2011), Leicester City (2011-16), Queens Park Rangers (loan 2015-16), Gillingham (2016-17), Billericay Town (2017), East Thurrock (2018)
- Signed from: Fulham
- Signed for LFC: £3.5m, 31.08.2010
- International debut: 12.02.2003 vs. Australia
- International caps: 2/0 - 12.11.2005
- Liverpool debut: 12.09.2010
- Last appearance: 05.01.2011
- Contract expiry: 13.07.2011
- Win ratio: 38.89% W:7 D:4 L:7
- Games/assists ratio: 18
- Total games/goals opposite LFC: 16 / 2
- League games / goals / assists: 15 / 0 / 1
- Total games / goals / assists: 18 / 0 / 1
Player Profile
Until his move to Merseyside, Konchesky had spent his entire professional career in London, a journey that took him to four different clubs in the capital. That journey began in his mid-teens at Charlton Athletic, whom he joined as a trainee before becoming in August 1997 the youngest player to appear in their first team at the age of 16 years and 93 days; an achievement subsequently surpassed by his later Liverpool teammate Jonjo Shelvey. It took Konchesky until the 2000/01 season to become a regular in the first eleven at The Valley but his opportunities were nevertheless limited and he went out on loan to Tottenham Hotspur. At the end of 2003 Charlton recalled him because of an injury crisis and he immediately came off the transfer list and re-established himself as a first-choice full-back. In the summer of 2005 Konchesky joined West Ham United and he stayed at Upton Park for two seasons, the first of which was by far his best because the Hammers finished in a creditable ninth place as well as reaching the FA Cup final, where they played Liverpool in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Konchesky certainly had a cup final to both remember and forget; remember because his sixty-third minute cross from the left drifted over Pepe Reina’s head to put his team 3-2 ahead and forget because he was one of three Hammers’ players whose spot-kicks were saved by Reina as Liverpool won the cup on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
In July 2007 Konchesky was on the move again, this time to west-London club Fulham. In the three years he was at Craven Cottage, he played in nearly a hundred Premier League matches. He also helped the Cottagers to the inaugural Europa League final in 2010 but Fulham, managed by Roy Hodgson, were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid in Hamburg. During his time in London, Konchesky played 15 times for England’s Under-21 team and at the time of his Liverpool move he had appeared twice for the senior team; against Australia in 2003 and Argentina in 2005. In August 2010 Liverpool paid £3.5 million for Konchesky as well as transferring youngsters Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic to Fulham as part of the deal worth a combined fee of £1.5 million. That Roy Hodgson had secured the services of a player he already knew well from their days together at Fulham could surely only be a good thing for Liverpool... Hodgson picked Konchesky regularly during his brief spell in charge at Anfield. However, it had become apparent to Liverpool fans right away that Konchesky had no business being in the club's first team. The fans' criticism especially had a profound effect on Paul's mom, Carol, who vented her frustration on her Facebook page after Liverpool's embarassing defeat at Stoke on 13 November 2010: "To all you Liverpool Scouse scum, take a real look at your team," Mrs Konchesky wrote. "Stop living in the past. The team are crap. Never should have left Fulham." Hodgson's successor, Kenny Dalglish, didn't have the same faith in the full-back as the erstwhile Fulham boss. Konchesky only appeared once in his first five 18-man matchday squads so it was no big surprise when, on the last day of the January 2011 transfer-window, it was announced that Konchesky would be going on loan to championship club Nottingham Forest. Konchesky appeared 15 times for Forest in the Championship, scoring once and in July 2011 he made a permanent move to Leicester City with Sven-Göran Eriksson in charge, for £1.5 million. Konchesky appeared in 42 matches for Leicester in the Championship in 2011/12, scoring twice. He continued to be a regular in 2012/13, taking his total of first-team appearances for Leicester City close to the one hundred mark. The Foxes reached the end-of-season Play-offs but were beaten by Watford at the semi-final stage.
In 2013/14 Konchesky continued to be a regular in the Leicester team as the Foxes returned to the top division of the English game after an absence of ten years. The full-back appeared in 31 of the 46 league matches and added three more appearances in the domestic cups. He scored just once, in a two-all draw at Blackpool in September. He featured in 26 Premiership games in 2014/15 but in the summer was told by new manager Claudio Ranieri that he didn't feature in his plans and joined Queens Park Rangers on a season long loan, where he made 34 appearances. With Leicester having won an unexpected league championship it was no surprise that he was not offered a new deal on the expiration of his contract and he signed for League One side Gillingham.
Konchesky only remained at Gillingham until February 2017, before leaving and dropping down four divisions to join Billericay Town. The Isthmian League side were being bankrolled by businessman Glenn Tamplin and Konchesky was one of a number of former top flight players at the club. He remained there for nine months, then joined Nationa League South side East Thurrock in July 2018. However after just a month there he left by mutual consent. He began mentoring youngsters at West Ham, keeping options open about a playing return whilst also running a pie and mash cafe in Brentwood, Essex. Maintaining is fitness, he ran the London Marathon in April 2019 to raise funds for the childrens charity Rainbow Trust.
Appearances per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
15 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
18 |
2010-2011 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
18 |
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
2 |
180 |
Blackburn Rovers |
2 |
155 |
Napoli |
1 |
90 |
Tottenham |
1 |
90 |
Wigan Athletic |
1 |
90 |
Steaua Bucharest |
1 |
90 |
Newcastle United |
1 |
90 |
Chelsea |
1 |
90 |
Bolton Wanderers |
1 |
90 |
West Ham United |
1 |
90 |
Everton |
1 |
90 |
Stoke City |
1 |
90 |
Aston Villa |
1 |
81 |
Manchester United |
1 |
78 |
Birmingham City |
1 |
74 |
Wolves |
1 |
28 |
Sunderland |
Total |
Started/substitutions |
18 |
Started |
1 |
On the bench |
0 |
Substitute |
5 |
Substituted |
Total |
Venue |
10 |
Away |
8 |
Home |
Assists per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2010-2011 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
12.09.2010 |
Birmingham City |
St Andrews |
League |
Other Clubs
Club |
Season |
Club rank |
League apps |
League goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
Charlton Athletic |
1997-1998 |
England First Division |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
Charlton Athletic |
1998-1999 |
England Premier League |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
Charlton Athletic |
1999-2000 |
England First Division |
8 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
Charlton Athletic |
2000-2001 |
England Premier League |
23 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
Charlton Athletic |
2001-2002 |
England Premier League |
34 |
1 |
39 |
2 |
Charlton Athletic |
2002-2003 |
England Premier League |
30 |
3 |
33 |
3 |
Charlton Athletic |
2003-2004 |
England Premier League |
21 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
Tottenham |
2003-2004 |
England Premier League |
12 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
Charlton Athletic |
2004-2005 |
England Premier League |
28 |
1 |
31 |
1 |
West Ham United |
2005-2006 |
England Premier League |
37 |
1 |
45 |
2 |
West Ham United |
2006-2007 |
England Premier League |
22 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
Fulham |
2007-2008 |
England Premier League |
33 |
0 |
37 |
0 |
Fulham |
2008-2009 |
England Premier League |
36 |
1 |
42 |
1 |
Fulham |
2009-2010 |
England Premier League |
27 |
1 |
42 |
1 |
Nottingham Forest |
2010-2011 |
England Championship |
15 |
1 |
15 |
1 |
Leicester City |
2011-2012 |
England Championship |
42 |
2 |
48 |
2 |
Leicester City |
2012-2013 |
England Championship |
39 |
1 |
44 |
1 |
Leicester City |
2013-2014 |
England Championship |
31 |
1 |
34 |
1 |
Leicester City |
2014-2015 |
England Premier League |
26 |
1 |
29 |
1 |
QPR |
2015-2016 |
England Championship |
34 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
Gillingham |
2016-2017 |
League One |
25 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
Billericay Town |
2016-2017 |
Isthmian League Premier Division |
12 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
Billericay Town |
2017-2018 |
Isthmian League Premier Division |
11 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
East Thurrock |
2018-2019 |
England National League South |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
Total |
556 |
14 |
637 |
16 |