In the first of our look back at last season promotion we start with the last line of defence and our goalkeepers Kelvin Davis & Bart Bialkowski.

Many will think that I will use this piece to run down Kelvin Davis, far from it, although I feel that his first half of the season was not great, in the second half of the season, like the season before, Kelvin came good and in the main put in a series of good displays after we had turned into the New Year, making some crucial saves at vital moments.

However there were still areas of his game that he lacked in, namely the command of his box, we were a team that spent a lot of time ion possession due to our passing game, this meant that most of our goals were conceded either by teams on the break or from set pieces, Kelvin's job had evolved due to this way of playing and he had to adapt from being a keeper that was a good shot stopper, to one that had less to do in the traditional areas but more in others, one on one Kelvin was excellent, on more than one occasion he saved us, not so good though wa shis distribution, in the first half of the season especially, often kelvin would struggle with playing to a set system, at times it was almost as if he was told he would be fined if he kicked long and because of that often we played ourselves into trouble, as the season went on he became more comfortable with it though.

In the season Saints conceded 46 league goals which at an average of 1 a game was as good as most in the division, however I think there are a couple of areas of concern here, not least the fact how many of them were conceded against the other 9 teams in the top ten, on the road we let in 16 in those 18 games, keeping only two clean sheets in the process, add to that the 10 goals we let in, in the home fixtures against them and a pattern emerges, at home especially we rarely gave other teams a clear shot at goal, but too often when a team did put pressure on us we cracked too easily, tis was the case last season as well, if you look back at that, on too many occasions our golas let in to shots on target ration was far too high, Reading for instance had four shots on target and scored three times, Pompey three and two goals.

On the surface we defended very well for most of the season, but we still gave away too many goals, for a keeper regarded as a great shot stopper, Kelvin let in far too many as a percentage of shots on target, m not saying this was all his fault, in fact I blame the defence far more, however if we want to survive and even prosper in the premiership, we have to look at this and improve, the stats show that the better sides averaged almost two goals a game against us when we played away to them, these werent great sides, if we dont learn and learn fast we could be in for some drubbings on the road.

All in all I would say that Kelvin had a decent season, he wasnt the best keeper i saw in this division, but he was nearer the top of the list than the bottom, he did a good job for us.

Bart Bialkowski only played one league game and he was much maligned for it, however the fact of the matter was despite a howling error in the game, he still kept the ball out on other occasions, and the point against Blackpool in that 2-2 draw gave us a cushion come the end of the season, I am not going to make a case for Bart as the future of Saints, I believe that he has perhaps been here too long, he needs a fresh change of scenery and a chance to prove himself in front of supporters who have no pre conceptions, the fans who lambasted him for this one error have short memories, most of Bart's games have been decent, indeed the lovers of Kelvin Davis, forget that in his first two seasons here he was appalling, in his third we were relegated with one of the worst goals conceded columns, however this was the making of Kelvin, he had a lot of shots hit at him and although he let in a lot, he saved a lot as well, it gave him the opportunity to come good again, for a keeper its easier to impress in these circumstances than in our current one, where the keeper was redundant for large chunks of the game before being called into action.

All in all a big pat on the pack to both for differing reasons.

Photo: Action Images

stmichael added 10:41 - May 9 Big fan of KD and I cant remember him ever being appalling. I,m sure if he was he would not have played so regularly. But he has improved probably with experience and confidence and I would not be looking to replace him. Fact is though that if we can get better players then ALL of the squad are replaceable including SRL and LALA. BART has lost his way , a bit like Kevin Davies now at BOLTON. He needs to be a number 1 somewhere but he has been loyal to Saints and we have looked after him. Just dont see him as our number 1 now or in the future.

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Fordy added 10:57 - May 9 Bart had a stinker against Blackpool. It wasn't just the goal he let in, he flapped at everything and his kicking was all over the place. I'm in two minds whether to move him on. He's done OK in the past and it was just one game. I think there are other priorities. I like KD. He may not be great on crosses but he comes across really well and I'm sure he's a great influence in the dressing room. I would certainly give him the chance in the Prem. So I don't think we should change the keepers, there are other priorities.

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SaintNick added 10:57 - May 9 Did I mention the word appalling, no although he wasnt too hot at Cardiff and made an appalling mistake, my problem with kelvin and Hooiveld to be honest is that for mosyt games they are good throughout, but at crucial times they lose concentration, it happened far too often last season, most times we were playing sides that couldnt capitalise, that wont be the case in the premier

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SaintDavo added 11:21 - May 9 Read your own article again :) quote "indeed the lovers of Kelvin Davis, forget that in his first two seasons here he was appalling" Regarding your comment that KD and Jos "lose concentration" well, I would say over the course of 90 mins, let alone 46 games, lapses of concentration will occur for EVERY player because that tends to be when most goals are scored/conceeded. If every player conentrated fully for 90 mins of every game i guess there would be lots of 0-0 draws :) I know what you are trying to say, but it just seems a little over critical of 2 players who worked so very hard for a fantastic achievement for our club. We are not Barca mate so try to be a little less forgiving if our players have the occasional blip, they are human after all :)

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SaintNitch added 12:19 - May 9 He was heroic against Leeds. That is all
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SaintNick added 13:09 - May 9 Sorry I thought you were referring to appalling this season, which he was far from. However in his first two seasons he was at times appalling, in fairness he arrived shot to pieces after a bad year at Syunderland but he was poor, it needed Bart to come back in and put in a series of displays that drageed us into the play offs, in his second season he was just as bad, I remember on two occasions he made gestures to the fans that he later apologised for due to the stick he was getting a 5-1 defeat(or was it 5-0) was one of them, again only the arrival of Richard Wright saved us from relegation. So yes Kelvin was appalling his first two years, decent in his third and good in the last threein general. As I mentioned in an earlier article, these verdicts look to discuss the areas that need improving etc not just give praise whether due or not

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bstokesaint added 13:09 - May 9 Agree totally with Davo Nick. No player is perfect and if they were we couldn't afford them! Kelvin and Hooiveld have been superb for us this season. If I had a criticism of our defence it would be that we are weak when attacked at pace on the wings. Kelvin has been brilliant for us and is a model pro. I'm sure his influence must also rub off on the younger players. So he should get his chance at the Premiership. It shouldn't be a shoe-in though. He needs a challenger of a decent calibre (younger obviously), as others have said we need two decent players for every spot. I no longer have any faith in Bart. It pains me a bit to say that, but if he freezes in the headlights against Blackpool then he's not going to be any use in the Premier League. He needs first team football somewhere else and to get his confidence back. Adkins will obviously know more than most what is required of a keeper, but this is definitely a position we need to fill IMO.

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SaintNick50 added 13:21 - May 9 Bart was great when we made the play-offs and should have played against Derby, but is now time to move on. Kelvin needs some serious competition how about Paul Robinson (Blackburn) or even Robert Green (West Ham) I believe both are nearing the end of their contracts? TOGETHER AS ONE!
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ItchenNorth added 13:33 - May 9 If he will come south again I think we should be going after Paul Robinson. It might be hard on Kelvin Davis but sentiment should not get in the way of progression. Robinson is still top draw in my eyes and has plenty of Premiership and international experience. If Kelvin does stay as our number one, we don't need to overly worry though, we have more important areas that will need addressing.

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bearsintheair added 13:46 - May 9 saw the game on monday evening blackburn/wigan i thought wigan were very positive & the wigan player who stood out for me was sean maloney . in the 1st half he was every where great movement good passer of the ball & the tempo of the game was great if we had 5-6 million pounds id sign him tommorow playing him on the right handside or in the middle of our midfeld i think we would be very strong there . his only blot was in the second half he missed avery good chance ps sorrey if ive jump the gun & gone into the midfield department

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owenthesaints added 14:03 - May 9 Not sure where you are going with this Nick. 46 goals conceded was only bettered by Reading (41) and Hull (44) so 'was as good as most in the division' is a bit of an understatement. You can analyse as much as you like, you can drum up as many statistics as you want but the only relevant statistics at the end of the day is that we were the second best team in the division as shown by the table and all the players contributed to this. We scored more goals than any other team, had, by far, the best goal difference in the division (39), and got two more points than the team that finished third. No matter how much in-depth analysis you do, you can't and wouldn't want to change a thing about the season other than the four points 'dropped' to Poopey perhaps.

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landsdownsaint added 14:18 - May 9 Unfortunately Bart can't kick the ball when played back to him,KD is solid as any other keeper I saw last season,In reality we need a massive squad overhaul with only Lallana ,Guly ,Lambert ,Schneidreline ,Lee being the exceptions that could play that step up IMO
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ExiledSupporter added 14:29 - May 9 Yes, a fair reflection of KD's season (and he is a good shot stopper and has bailed us out too often this season) and agree with the views about Bart's time to go. Trouble is that I don't find Kelvin in any way re-assuring when the ball is coming into the box from a cross, granted, he doesn't rush out and miss much, the problem is that he much prefers to stay on his line and let his defenders clear. This doesn't always work. I am not a great fan of punching the ball out at times of necessity, but I cannot much recall seeing him do this, mainly because he so rarely intervenes in balls delivered from the wings.Over the years we have all seen him drop a few clangers, more earlier in his career than in recent seasons, but I suspect that he has a bit of a reputation amongst other teams as slightly dodgy in commanding his six yard box and in the Prem this will soon be tested and he may be found very wanting. Agree with earlier correspondent that part of the issue is reducing the number of crosses into the box in the first place, no easy job in the Prem.No grounds for dispensing with him but vital to have a top class (well, as top class as we can afford/attract) to provide serious competition and as a credible alternative, just to keep Kelvin on his toes in every sense!

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geezershoong added 15:12 - May 9 For me, statistics don't just cut it on their own. They don't take into effect KD has on the rest of the players, he's a senior player & one the younger players look up to & trust. Can't wait for the Defenders mauling.
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SaintNick added 15:53 - May 9 2nd in the division was only relevant in regard of the final league table of the season, you can bet your ottom dollar that Nigel and hs coaches will be looking at rafts of statistics and looking to see where and when we went wrong, 2nd in the league is now gone we cant rest on our laurels
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Struggers added 15:58 - May 9 Agree with owenthesaints. KD was the Goalkeeper selected in the Football League Championship Team Of The Year and has won Football League Precision Goalkeeping Golden Glove Award for March, so he can't be that bad. And let's face it, he will struggle more against the better teams because they are the better teams. BTW Bart made more than one howler in that match, I don't think I have ever seen such a consistently poor performance before.

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Ronnie added 16:52 - May 9 I spoke to Bart a the awards dinner and he was clear that as his contract
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JimmySteal added 16:55 - May 9 Remember Bart's only 24. Give him a new contract and send him out on loan for a season, he needs 1st team football somewhere. He'll be fine. Must be a decent keeper on a free somewhere to understudy KD. Adkins is obviously going with him for at least a season.
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owenthesaints added 17:09 - May 9 Nick, the clue to your article is in the headline 'Verdict'. Nobody is suggesting we rest on our laurels but you have presented a verdict on this season – we can only judge Kelvin (and when it is their turn) the rest of the squad on that and I think it has been one of the most successful seasons Saints have ever had. NA's job is to improve the squad etc and of course he will look back at the highs and lows and analyse the season, but overall he must be 'over the moon' with the men who did the job and got us back to where we belong. The squad to keep us there will be different but lets enjoy the moment instead of criticising individuals who have given the all to the cause.

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BlackRod added 18:58 - May 9 Watch out for the next instalment: We're comin' for you, We're comin' for you, Harding and Hooiveld, We're comin' for you.
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Whatsforpud added 23:53 - May 9 One aspect of Davis' play that hasn't been mentioned is his ability to act as sweeper, often heading the ball by necessity from outside the area. This seems to happen quite often. This is down to what Dave Merrington would describe as his good starting position. I agree that he stays back too often for crosses, and will generally only go for crosses within the goal area. I feel his passing to fellow defenders is a little overdone, and is worryingly prone to dwell on the ball when a forward tries to close him down. However, he has a presence about him, and I look forward to seeing him in the Premier.

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zonehead added 19:23 - May 11 Robinson would be a good shout, if not Shmiekel to battle it out with KD
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