Former Player Remembers: Paul Konchesky
Looking back on his career, Paul began by talking about his early years: “I was born in Barking, grew up as a West Ham fan and went there as a nine-year-old. When I was 13, I went across the water to Charlton Athletic as I thought I might get a better opportunity at a lower [second tier] club under Alan Curbishley.
"Three years later, I made my first team debut when the left-back got injured, and we beat Oxford 3-2. I was 16 years and 93 days old - which was a club record for the youngest first team player. Jonjo Shelvey has since beaten it by a couple of days. Today, even lower down the league, there are not many boys who play in the first team at 16 or 17."
At the end of that season, Charlton Athletic famously beat Sunderland in the 1998 Play-Off Final at Wembley for a place in the Premier League. Paul didn’t play but travelled with the first team along with another youngster, Scott Parker. Relegated after one season and then promoted again in 2000, Paul was an established member of the Addicks’ Premier League side for the next five seasons.
In September 2003, Paul interrupted his Charlton Athletic career with a short loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur.
“That was a weird one”, Paul explained. “Charlton needed a centre-back, so Chris Perry went from Tottenham to Charlton and Glenn Hoddle took me to Spurs. I played 12 games there in nearly three months before returning to Charlton. Playing with the likes of Jamie Redknapp, Gus Poyet and Robbie Keane was a great experience for me.
“They were good times at Charlton," Paul continued. “They were days I will never forget. I made 15 appearances for the England Under-21s and then Sven [Goren-Eriksson] picked me to play for England. My first game [against Australia] was at Upton Park which, as a West Ham fan, was very special. Wayne Rooney also made his England debut in that game”.
In July 2005, Paul signed for Alan Pardew’s West Ham United. He continued: “Alan Curbishley and I fell out a little bit, so he let me go to West Ham. They had just got promoted to the Premier League. It was a dream come true playing for the team I supported growing up.
“It was a fantastic first year there. We finished ninth and we played Liverpool in the FA Cup Final at Cardiff. Getting there was a great achievement.
"We went a couple of goals up and then they came back into it making it 2-2. Just before he scored their equaliser, Steven Gerrard was limping about and I said to him, ‘Steve, you’re going to have to be careful. Don’t get injured for the World Cup’. He was alright after he scored though!
"Then I scored! I went to cross the ball and it went into the top corner. Had it not been for Steven Gerrard and his fantastic 35 yard volley in injury time, we would have won the Cup. Losing on penalties was a harsh and horrible way to lose a Cup Final, but when you look back it was a fantastic run and a fantastic day. It was one of the best Cup finals ever.
“My second season at West Ham wasn’t going too well. Alan Pardew was replaced by Alan Curbishley, who’d let me go from Charlton so I knew that probably my time was up.
“West Ham just avoided relegation, and in the close season Lawrie Sanchez took me to [Premier League side] Fulham. I was one of several signings that summer along with Steven Davis, Aaron Hughes, David Healy and Diomansy Kamara.
"It was hard at the start with everyone trying to knit together. Lawrie lost his job and Roy [Hodgson] came in at Christmas time. We survived that year in the last game of the season when Danny Murphy scored a header at Portsmouth.
“We kicked on from there. We got into Europe and reached the UEFA Cup Final. We played Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg, and Hamburg. The highlight of the run was the Juventus tie. We lost the away leg 3-1, but won 4-1 at home with Clint Dempsey scoring the winning goal with an unbelievable chip.
“The final was against Atletico Madrid, who had Diego Forlan, Antonio Reyes, Sergio Aguero and David De Gea in their side. We lost 2-1 - Forlan scored the winner a couple of minutes from the end of extra time with a back heel. We were so near yet so far again, but I was lucky enough to play some big teams in big competitions”.
Paul’s next move was to Liverpool in August 2010. He added: “Roy Hodgson went to manage Liverpool early in the close season. I did my pre-season with Fulham, and got a whiff that Liverpool needed a left-back. Roy spoke to my agent and to the Club, but Fulham’s new manager Mark Hughes didn’t want me to go."
Having spent his whole career in London, Liverpool was a completely different experience for Paul.
“I’d always been in London but I couldn’t turn down a move to one of the best clubs in the world, with their history. When you go there, it’s different.
"London is big with loads of football clubs. In Liverpool there are just two and the fans up there just love their football. We’d go out shopping as a family and get mobbed. I wasn’t one of the big players so I can imagine how it was for Fernando Torres and Gerrard”.
However, Hodgson left Liverpool by mutual consent only five months into the season.
“At the time they were trying to sell the club”, Paul reflected. “Maybe it was a bad time to go to Liverpool, and the fans didn’t really take to Roy.
"He brought me in, as well and Joe Cole and Christian Poulsen. The fans didn’t really take to any of us, maybe because we were Roy’s signings, so when Roy went it was even harder. Then Kenny Dalglish took over.
"I worked with him and even though it was for a short period of time, I was lucky enough to play 20 games for Liverpool. It was something people dream of, and I really enjoyed playing with Torre, Gerrard and Carragher.”
At the end of the season, Paul signed for Leicester City - where he would remain for half a decade.
“Kenny had let me go on loan to Nottingham Forest, and Sven was managing Leicester. My move there was on, then off, then on again. It eventually got done and I went down to Leicester who were in the Championship.
"I signed at the same time as Kasper Schmeichel, Matt Mills and Nuge [David Nugent]. It was a bit like when I was at Fulham when a group of us came in at the same time.
"When people ask me today where I played my favourite football, I always say Fulham and Leicester. I loved every minute of my time at Leicester."
Sven left Leicester by mutual consent less than three months into the season, heralding the return of Nigel Pearson. Paul’s view was pragmatic. “When a manager brings you in and then leaves, a new manager has obviously got his own ideas and you never know whether or not you are going to feature.
"I had played against Nigel when he was at Middlesbrough. I didn’t know him personally but he seemed to take to me and I played in every game under him unless I was injured or suspended.
"He was a really nice guy. In 2014, we got promoted to Premier League, winning the Championship, breaking records on the way. It was another medal for my collection."
The first season back in the Premier League was tough, but it ended with the famous ‘Great Escape’ when City won seven and drew one of their last nine games.
“The Premier League is where everyone wants to play”, Paul continued. “There were some early highlights like the 5-3 victory over Manchester United. We started off on fire. We signed Leo who scored some early goals, but then it got a bit doom and gloom.
"We were seven points adrift with only nine games to go, but Nigel didn’t panic. He is quite a calm guy. He didn’t change many things even though we were that far behind.
"The team all stuck together and proved in the end that we were good enough to stay up. Bringing [Esteban] Cambiasso into the Club gave everyone a massive lift. Even around the training ground he was fantastic”.
The following season, Paul went to Queens Park Rangers on a season long loan. “The new manger [Claudio Ranieri] came in during the pre-season. We sat down and had a chat and he obviously wanted to go a bit younger, which I understand. It was a hard one to take because being 34, thinking it might be my last year, I didn’t want to sit in the stand every week.
"I wanted to play, so I went to QPR and played another 40 games. I didn’t know that Leicester were going to win the Premier League! That was fantastic for them.
"People ask me if I was gutted to miss this but I couldn’t be gutted because even if I’d stayed, I might have not played. I didn’t leave there on bad terms and I certainly don’t hold a grudge. I still speak to a few of the boys like Wes, Vards and Simmo, the fitness people and Jon Rudkin.
"I’ve got to pay tribute to the owners. They are fantastic. They love the football club. You can see that they are passionate about it. They are such genuine people. Even now I’ve left, I am always made feel very welcome, an example being when I came to the Sevilla game and sat with the owners and had a chat."
Paul’s year at Loftus Road was followed by a spells playing for League One side Gillingham and Isthmian League side Billericay Town. He remains involved in football.
“I’ve just finished my ‘B’ licence but I’m more interested in mentoring than in coaching. I do some mentoring of the youngsters at West Ham trying to help them along the way, not just at football but outside football as well. I do some little bits of media too.
"Then there’s the pie and mash shop called 'Konch’s Kafe' - my mum runs this. We’re from east London and round this way [Brentwood] there are no pie and mash shops. It’s quite busy on West Ham match days - we didn’t know it would go as well as it has!”