As an ex goalkeeper himself, Nigel Adkins should be well qualified to make a tough decision for the match against Sunderland.
Nigel Adkins could have a tricky decision for the visit of Sunderland in what is a vital relegation clash and a definate must win game for Saints as they complete over half of their home fixtures against the Black Cats, but the question on the lips of most fans will be who plays in goal for Saints ?
Prior to the Reading game a fortnight ago it seemed that Nigel had made his choice of number 1, Paulo Gazzaniga was the man for Nigel with Kelvin Davis not having been selected for a Premier League game for nearly three months, time in which the arrival, selection and dropping of Artur Boruc had been sandwiched inbetween.
But a shoulder injury to Gazzaniga a fortnight ago meant that the manager had to make a change in goal, he had two choices, did he go for Kelvin Davis who hd suffered a torrid rtime in the opening four fixtures, or did he select Artur Boruc who with six weeks training under his belt since the Spurs game might now be ready both mentally and physically for first team action.
Certainly if Boruc was fit for a return he may have offered the best option, both Davis and Gazzaniga have their good points but both have their bad as well, with Boruc if fit and with the right attitude he would tick more of the right boxes.
Nigel made a decision for the Reading game and although Kelvin had little to do, the fact that a clean sheet was kept showed that it was the right one for that match, now Nigel has to think again, if he has Gazzaniga fit again does he restore him to the side ? does he consider that Boruc should be thrown in ? or does he stick with Kelvin for a second game.
All three decisions have their merits, in the case of Gazza it could be said on the plus side that overall he is the best man for the job and that was why he was first choice prior to the Reading game and would have played if fit, obviously the downside is that he is raw and will make mistakes, but then again so have the other two this season.
In the case of Boruc as I mentioned on paper he ticks all the boxes, and his experience could be vital, if Saints havent got him fit in the two months he has been here then he probably is never going to be fit, igel is perhaps making a sdecision not just on this game, but Boruc's whole Saints career.
In the case of Kelvin of course there are those that mention words like loyalty, however you get no points for loyalty in the Premier, Kelvin hadnt played for three months for good reason and that was his performances in the opening games, there are those that will see Kelvin as the past and Gazza as the future and opt for that.
Personally m a big believer in that if a player plays well he should keep his place all things being equal, thats why I believe that it will be Kelvin Davis in between the sticks on Saturday and after his performance against Reading I have no issues with that, I think that Kelvin came in and did a job and deserves the chance to see if he can keep doing that job.