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DeclanMC

Paul Konchesky

By DeclanMC, in Leicester City Forum

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StanSP

StanSP

Posted
Posted

Good read :).

 

Decent form so far and although I was a bit cautious going in to the season with only himself & Schlupp as left-backs, he's definitely holding his own for now.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/20/paul-konchesky-leicester-manchester-united-interview?CMP=twt_gu

 

As Paul Konchesky looks back over a career that stretches across three decades, there is a reminder of just how much football has changed. The former England international made his professional debut 17 years ago, back in the days when central defenders wore black boots and refuelling after matches meant swigging something alcoholic rather than isotonic. “There used to be a crate of beer on the coach for away games,” Konchesky says, smiling. “You wouldn’t be seen dead with that now.”

It is testament to the way that Konchesky has looked after himself that, as well as playing at the highest level at the age of 33, he is still sprinting up and down the left flank to set up goals, as he did at the Britannia Stadium last Saturday, when his cross was turned home by Leonardo Ulloa to give Leicester City their first Premier League win of the season. “I couldn’t move after that though!” Konchesky says, laughing.

He is joking. Konchesky is holding his own in the Premier League, in decent shape physically and, with the exception of one obvious change in appearance, looks no different to the player who made his England debut on the same night as Wayne Rooney. “My hair!” Konchesky says, laughing. “Well, my wife and little girl are behind that. My wife made me grow it last summer and now my little girl won’t let me cut it – she cried her eyes out when I said I would. I get a bit of stick from the lads, saying: ‘Have you had a hair transplant?’ But it’s all natural. Natural and grey!”

Konchesky is clearly enjoying his football at Leicester and, at the same time, trying to make a difference off the field. On Thursday, he met Stacey Mowle, an eight-year-old girl who is suffering from cancer and whose parents are trying to raise £500,000 for treatment abroad. Konchesky accepted an invitation to be one of the appeal patrons some time ago but this was the first time he had spent any time with Stacey.

“I went to school with her mum but that was probably the last time I’d seen her,” he says. “To be honest, I was a bit worried in the morning, I didn’t really know what to say or expect, but Stacey’s a happy girl and I’m so glad that I went to see her. It was one of those days that puts everything into perspective. She’s told me a few things she would like, so I’m going to get her a Leicester kit and try to get her to one of the home games and on the pitch beforehand.”

The King Power Stadium will not be short of big occasions this season, arguably none more so than Sunday’s visit of Manchester United. Konchesky admits he still gets excited about the prospect of coming up against stellar names. It will also be a chance for a reunion with Rooney, more than 11 years after they both pulled on an England shirt for the first time, in a 3-1 defeat by Australia at Upton Park.

For Konchesky, who grew up supporting West Ham United, it is an occasion that he looks back on with immense pride and a tinge of regret. “Obviously it was a bad result but it was a dream to play for your national team at senior level, in front of all my family, and at the ground I loved,” he says.

“I don’t think I could take it all in at the time, I was still learning the game. People like Beckham, Scholes and Gerrard were in the squad, so to be at dinner with them was a bit nerve-racking. I was sat in the corner and didn’t really want to say anything, it almost felt like your first day at school.

“Also, I do think quite deeply about games, probably not as much now, but especially then as a kid. I was a baby going into the England squad, thinking: ‘How about if I do this wrong? I need to do this, I need to do that.’ Whereas looking back now, I should have gone and been myself, but you obviously learn through experience.”

As well as winning a second England cap, against Argentina in 2005, Konchesky has racked up 325 Premier League appearances across spells with Charlton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Fulham, Liverpool and now Leicester. He played and scored in the 2006 FA Cup final, when West Ham lost to Liverpool, and was in the Fulham team that were beaten by Atlético Madrid in the Europa League final in 2010.

Konchesky says that he “loved being at Fulham” and, with the benefit of hindsight, accepts that it proved to be a mistake to follow Roy Hodgson to Liverpool that summer. Hodgson was sacked after six months and Konchesky played his last game for a struggling Liverpool team not long afterwards.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was hard for me,” he recalls. “It opened my eyes to how big the club was – being there every day seeing people who live and breathe football. The expectation was so high. They’re good pressures, don’t get me wrong. But from where I’d been, it was a completely different pressure. I knew I was going to a big club, but I don’t know if I doubted I shouldn’t be going because of where I’d been before. Probably like the England thing, I should have been myself.”

An already difficult time on Merseyside was exacerbated when Konchesky’s mother responded to criticism of her son’s performances by launching a tirade against Liverpool fans on her Facebook site. “She regrets that 100%,” Konchesky says. “She didn’t like what she was hearing and she was trying to stick up for me, like I think a lot of mums would stick up for their kids. But obviously when I saw it, I thought: ‘I’m in a bit of trouble here.’

“Going back to Liverpool this season will be hard for me, because that is obviously going to come up, but I’ve got to try and rise above it. I will go back and hold my head up high. All I can say is that I tried my hardest there, and I’m proud I played 18 times for Liverpool, probably one of the greatest clubs in the world.”

After leaving Anfield, Konchesky joined Leicester in 2011 and is one of very few survivors from the Sven-Goran Eriksson days. He admires the work ethic that Nigel Pearson has brought to the club, as well as the manager’s attack-minded approach, and talks excitedly about the impact Esteban Cambiasso has had on a team that he believes will survive this season. “Wow, what a player,” Konchesky says.

For Konchesky, there is also a quiet sense of satisfaction about the fact that the grey-haired thirtysomething at left-back can still cut it at this level. “At the end of the season, you hear: ‘We might need this, we might need that.’ Some people wanted maybe a younger player with fresh legs. But, as Cambiasso has said, it ain’t all about running. I knew it was going to be a big year to try and prove people wrong. Hopefully my form so far has done that. And long may it continue.”

 

 

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ZeljkoKalac1

ZeljkoKalac1

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Posted

I certainly must hold my hands up to Paul and say I got it wrong.

He's been fantastic so far, keep it up Konch.

Me too pal!

 

Hat's off to the bloke - He signed a new deal last season, which if true pays him significantly less than what he was on, and he's played his way as first choice and is holding his own. It show's what a great pro he is.

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Guest ttfn

Guest ttfn

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Never jumped on the not good enough bandwagon anyway. one poor game last season- leeds away.

lol he was terrible in that game.

I don't think it's a bandwagon I was ever on either - he was my POTS in 11/12 and was solid for the next 2 years - but I did think he'd need to be replaced this season. It looks like I was wrong.

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dmayne7

dmayne7

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Despite the fact that he sounds like a right geezer and looks like a psycho, the few interviews I've heard with him, he comes across really well. Exactly the type of pro you need in our young squad. Sounds like he enjoys it here and actually cares about doing well for us as a club. 

 

We need to accept that he's going make mistakes and get his pants pulled down from time to time but when you look at the dearth of quality fullbacks in world football, its pretty clear that he's a good enough player for us.

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Tommythefox06

Tommythefox06

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He's done really well so far this season, he comes across very well too.

 

As an opposition player he was one you always loved to hate as came across as a bit of a nasty snarling type, but I've met him a couple of times since he joined us and can guarantee you wouldn't meet a nicer, more grounded fella :thumbup:

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