A former Liverpool player admits his £3.5m transfer to Anfield was his biggest career regret, despite calling the move a 'dream come true'
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 once admitted he wished he'd never made the move to Anfield. The left-back signed for the Reds from Fulham in August 2010 in a deal worth £3.5million.
He was handed a four-year contract by his ex-Fulham boss Roy Hodgson, who himself had moved from Craven Cottage to Anfield just a month prior. But Hodgson's tenure at Liverpool lasted only six months before he was sacked, which immediately spelled trouble for the then-29 year old defender as well.
Konchesky managed only 18 appearances for the club before Kenny Dalglish shipped him out on loan to Nottingham Forest in January. He made a permanent switch to Leicester City in the summer of 2011, drawing the curtain on his short-lived and forgettable Liverpool stint, which included being ironically applauded by his own supporters after being substituted during a match against Wolves.
His already controversial transfer became even more unpopular when his mother went viral on social media for an expletive-filled Facebook rant where she labelled Liverpool fans as 'Scouse Scum' while defending her son earlier on in the campaign.
Konchesky, whose previous teams Fulham and Liverpool will meet in a 3pm Premier League fixture at Craven Cottage on Sunday, later described the transfer as his biggest career mistake. Yet, he acknowledged he was always going to accept the offer given Liverpool's stature.
He told the Liverpool ECHO: "Listen, I don't regret many things in my career. You look at it now, do I regret it?
Paul Konchesky of Liverpool gets his ears flicked 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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"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.
"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 just a year before their remarkable Premier League triumph to join Queens Park Rangers on loan. Brief stints at Gillingham, Billericay Town and East Thurrock United followed before he called time on his career in 2020.
Konchesky, who earned two England caps, transitioned into management after hanging up his boots. He joined Billericay as assistant player-manager to Jamie O'Hara in August 2020 but left the club in December of the same year.
In May 2021, he took up the role of assistant manager for West Ham United Women and, a year later, he replaced Olli Harder as the team's manager ahead of the 2022/23 FA WSL season. However, on 28 May 2023, West Ham announced Konchesky's exit from his managerial role after the team managed only a single league victory in 2023.
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