Saints goalkeeper Kelvin Davis has been awarded a testimonial after completing ten years service at Southampton Football Club.
Kelvin Davis has deservedly been awarded a testimonial as he approaches the tenth anniversary of his arrival at St Mary's in July 2006.
It would be fair to say that Kelvin had led a little bit of a chequered career at Saints snce his £1 million pound transfer from Sunderland when his former boss at Ipswich and then Saints manager George Burley brought him in as Saints splashed the cash under new owner Michael Wilde in what would turn out to be an ill fated spending spree that eventually brought the club to its knees.
Kelvin's first season was not great and as Saints promotion hopes faltered so did Kelvin's standing in the fan base and many were relieved he was replaced by Bart Bialkowski in March 2007 and this resulted in a late surge that took Saints into the play offs, Kelvin returned for the second leg of the play off semi against Derby County but ultimately Saints missed out.
The following season was almost a carbon copy of the previous as far as Kelvin was concerned, this time Saints were sliding towards relegation and fate took a hand with Kelvin being injured at Stoke and although youngster Michael Poke was initially used, Richard Wright was brought in and put in a string of solid performances that many consider the best in a Saints shirt between Antti Niemi and Fraser Forster, Saints stayed up by the skin of their teeth, but there were many who thought that Kelvin's days were numbered.
He started his third season at number one again though, but this was going to be a traumatic year for Saints, but it would prove to be a turning point for Kelvin, he had a lot of action and although he let in a number of goals, he also made a number of great saves and the fans started to finally warm to him.
In the summer of 2009 with the club in Administration he had the offer to go to Premier League West ham as back up, but chose to stay at St Mary's and play in League One.
He continued his good form in League One and although there were some calls for Bialkowski to replace him when the team were not playing well, in the main he had a good season.
2010/11 saw Saints promoted and Kelvin played his full part playing all 46 of the games and getting in the PFA team of the year.
The following year it was back to the Championship and another promotion, Kelvin played 45 games missing only one and had his best ever game for the club at Leeds United when a 1-0 win for Saints could easily have been a 4-1 defeat if it hadn't been for Kelvin's heroics.
But the Premier League was to be a step too far and after conceding 14 goals in the first 4 league games, Kelvin was dropped and Paulo Gazzaniga thrown in at the deep end, Kelvin's reign as undisputed number one was over.
But at times he was brought back, sometimes he was not always the first choice as cover with Gazzaniga often got the nod, but Kelvin must have had a sense of irony that it was the youngster getting all the stick from the fans and it must have reminded him of hs first two seasons at the club.
In 2012/13 his appearances were very limited with Artur Boruc now firmly first choice, cup appearances aside he played just two Premier League games, 14/15 was a little better and Kelvin played 7 times after Frazer Forster's injury with the final day of the season being his 300th appearance for the club.
Many thought that might be it for Kelvin and he might retire but he continued on and he made it 10 consecutive seasons of appearances for the club when he deputised for Maarten Stekelenburg against Leicester City.
But that could well be his last appearance as when Stekelenburg was again injured it was Gazzaniga preferred and who looked the part against Palace and Spurs meaning that Kelvin is now fourth in the pecking order with the return of Forster to the line up.
I havent tried to gloss over Kelvin's career at Saints as being all sweetness in light and in truth his appearances in the last four seasons have been a mere 20 Premier league games, he has had bad times at Saints and he has had good times, given that it makes it all the better to appreciate what he has done for the club and how faithful a servant he has been in a day and age when rarely does a player complete 4 years service to one club let alone 10.
Kelvin truly deserves this chance for Saints supporters to show their appreciation and even those who have at ties got on his back would surely concur that he is worthy of being named as one of the greats who have played for this club given the number of games played, the honours won of two promotions and the Johnstones Paint Trophy and of course the 10 years of unbroken service.
The Saints official site announced the award by saying.
To celebrate the goalkeeper’s ten-year spell at St Mary’s, the current Saints side will take on the Promotions Eleven — a select squad made up of those who represented the club in its consecutive promotion-winning campaigns of 2010/11 and 2011/12.
The match, which is being organised by Davis’s testimonial committee, will take place at St Mary’s on the evening of Tuesday 17th May — two days after the Barclays Premier League season ends.
Davis said: "I was delighted to learn that, in response to requests from fans, the club has agreed to stage a testimonial match in recognition of my ten seasons here.
"I see this as a real opportunity for us to celebrate all that’s happened at the club over the past few years, and I hope that I will be able to welcome back many of the players who were involved in our promotion seasons that took us to the Premier League.
"It's also a fantastic opportunity for me to support my chosen charity which is the Liver and Pancreatic Cancer Research & Development Charity, who are based here in Southampton.
"I am really looking forward to celebrating my ten seasons at this great club with staff and players from past and present — and, of course, the supporters who have become so important to me and my family.”
Ticketing and hospitality arrangements for the match will be announced in the near future, along with confirmation of the players who will line up for the Promotions Eleven. Make sure you're following Davis on Instagram to keep up to date ahead of the day.