England international admits he 'put in a transfer request' to force West Ham transfer

James Ward-Prowse would have been forgiven for looking to the skies in disbelief when it emerged that Nuno Espirito Santo would be replacing Graham Potter in the West Ham United dugout.

A player reunited with a coach who handed him only five Premier League starts during a loan spell at Nottingham Forest the previous season. A loan spell which ended up being terminated halfway through the campaign.

So, considering that he had hardly been pulling up any trees back at West Ham United, the writing appeared to be on the wall for James Ward-Prowse when Nuno Espirito Santo walked into Rush Green for the first time on Saturday.

Yet, while his removal from the starting XI came as little surprise, few expected to see him dropped from the team sheet altogether. Ward-Prowse was left at home by Nuno during the 1-1 draw at Everton. From first-choice to, what, fourth or fifth in a matter of days?

Paul Konchesky, the former West Ham left-back who fell out with Alan Curbishley at Charlton Athletic only to end up sharing a dressing room again at Upton Park, presumably understands the awkward situation facing Ward-Prowse better than most.

Paul Konchesky reflects on leaving Charlton Athletic for West Ham United

Last week, Konchesky shared his concerns about Nuno’s appointment. While more than a safe pair of hands, would the former Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur boss bring about the attractive, attacking football many fans are craving?

Nuno may not be wedded to a particular style or formation, but one thing the 51-year-old does pride himself on is a sense of togetherness, of trust. If Ward-Prowse does not fit into that, well, at least the January transfer window offers a potential escape route.

Konchesky knows from experience the situation Ward-Prowse now faces. He was so determined to escape the clutches of Alan Curbishley that he handed in a transfer request back in 2005, forcing through a £1.5 million move across the capital.

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It was just his luck, then, that a certain Newham-born tactician would inherit the Upton Park hotseat just 18 months later. Thus, bringing a premature end to Konchesky’s West Ham career in the process.

“When I left Charlton to go to West Ham, I put a transfer request in,” Konchesky recalls, speaking on the Under the Cosh podcast. “Me and the manager fell out. All I wanted to do was play. I wanted to play regularly.

“For me, it was time to move on and try something different with a new manager and a new club.

And the only way it would happen was if I would put a transfer request in.”

“The money bit didn’t bother me then. At the time, I just wanted to play.”

Konchesky and Alan Curbishley had a ‘frosty’ relationship

Despite picking up his first and only England caps as a Charlton player, Konchesky found minutes increasingly hard to come by under Curbishley. And, by his own admission, the nature of his departure led to a very strained relationship between the two men.

“It was frosty! We had fallings out. You’d play well and he’d leave you out. I was always knocking on his door, and that’s why I wanted to leave. The transfer request was for that reason,” adds the Barking-born 44-year-old.

“I had 16 months that were quite good at West Ham. I loved it! I got to the FA Cup final. It was my club, [Alan Pardew] Pards took me there. Second season started not great [and they] got rid of the manager.

“You get loads of, ‘Oh he might be the manager’. And I’m going, ‘I hope [Curbishley] ain’t the manager! All I want to do is play for West Ham’.

“The relationship was frosty. I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can play for him again. I know how he is and what he did to me!'”

Former England international spent time at Fulham and Liverpool

Predictably enough, Konchesky would fall out of favour shortly after a 6-0 obliteration by Reading, with Curbishley promoting George McCartney in his place.

“We went away to Reading and lost 6-0. After that, I didn’t play again. When [Curbishley] came in, we sat down and he said, ‘it’ss a clean slate’. I thought, ‘I know it’s not!’ Then, he bought someone else, so I knew then it was game over.

“I probably didn’t help saying, ‘I don’t want to play for you, and blah, blah, blah’. But that was at Charlton, not at West Ham! Deep down, I knew my time was over really. I still had two more years there. I could have sat there but I wanted to play again.”

Konchesky would stay in London, joining Fulham for £3.5 million after an inspired Carlos Tevez saved Mark Noble and co from relegation.

“There were a couple [of offers],” adds a man who would reach the Europa League final at Fulham before a short-lived spell at Liverpool. “I spoke to Glasgow Rangers. I spoke to Birmingham City, but I ended up going to Fulham.

“The Scottish one, I think at the time I thought I was too young. And you hear about, you want to end your career there. So I thought at 24-25 years old, I’m probably too young to go up to Scotland and go and play.

“So, that was that. And then the other one was, yeah, I would rather just go to London rather than to Birmingham and not have to really move my family.”

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