Players - Paul Konchesky

Paul Konchesky
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
Total Competition
15 Premier League
3 Europa League
Total W D L Win % Manager
18 7 4 7 38.9% Roy Hodgson
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
Total Opponent
1 West Ham United
Total Competition
1 Premier League
Total For player
1 Maxi Rodriguez
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