A former Liverpool player had a torrid spell at Anfield, leaving him with a sense of regret even years down the line
Paul Konchesky signing for Liverpool Football Club at Melwood Training Ground
Paul Konchesky signing for Liverpool Football Club in 2010
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Former Liverpool defender Paul Konchesky admits he regrets ever joining the club. The left-back signed for the Reds from Fulham in August 2010 in a transfer worth £3.5million.
He was offered a four-year deal by his former Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, who himself had moved from Craven Cottage to Anfield a month earlier. Yet, Hodgson’s Liverpool career lasted just over six months as he was sacked, which meant the writing was on the wall for the then-29-year-old defender too.
Konchesky made just 18 appearances for the club before being sent out on loan by Kenny Dalglish to Nottingham Forest in January. He permanently signed for Leicester City in the summer of 2011, bringing an end to his brief yet bitter Liverpool career, which saw him cheered sarcastically by his own fans after being taken off in a game against Wolves.
His already controversial move had become even more unpopular when his mum went viral on social media for an X-rated Facebook post in which she branded Liverpool supporters ‘Scouse Scum’ in defence of her son earlier in the season.
Konchesky, whose former clubs Fulham and Liverpool face off in a 3pm Premier League kick-off at Craven Cottage on Sunday, later singled out the transfer as the main regret of his career. However, he did admit he was always going to accept the move given the stature of Liverpool.
"Listen, I don't regret many things in my career," he told the Liverpool ECHO. "You look at it now, do I regret it?
"Only because of what happened. But I was 29 and going to one of the biggest clubs with a massive history. You can't turn that down.
Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard watch Paul Konchesky of Liverpool during a Liverpool FC training session, at Melwood training ground
Roy Hodgson's departure spelled the end of the defender's Liverpool career
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"I knew the club was trying to change hands with the owners, but obviously not as much as it probably was behind the scenes. So I knew it was going to be difficult.
"It was a difficult time for the club. It was a difficult time for me, you know, and probably wouldn’t happen now.
"And I think at the time, looking back now like they didn't really want Roy Hodgson as the manager. I was one of Roy’s signings. So it was always going to be hard, you know?
"But if someone comes to you at 29 years old and it’s a club like Liverpool with that massive history, I think everyone will bite their hands off. And it was a dream come true."
Paul Konchesky on the Under the Cosh podcast
Konchesky opened up about his Liverpool career(Image: YouTube/Under the Cosh)
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He left Leicester a year before their incredible title-winning season to join Queens Park Rangers on loan. Short spells at Gillingham, Billericay Town and East Thurrock United followed before he hung up his boots in 2020.
Konchesky, who was capped twice by England, moved into management post-retirement. He joined Billericay as assistant player-manager to Jamie O’Hara in August 2020 but left the club that December.
He became the assistant manager of West Ham United Women in May 2021 and, in May 2022, he succeeded Olli Harder as the manager ahead of the 2022/23 FA WSL season. On May 28, 2023, West Ham announced Konchesky was leaving his job as manager after the team only won one league game in 2023.