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.   

Photo: Action Images

SonicBoom added 11:13 - Dec 18 Me too. KD in for Saturday. Also Boruc to be shipped out in Jan and someone else to come in.
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mg2104 added 11:35 - Dec 18 KD to prove a point against Sunderland.
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Whatsforpud added 12:04 - Dec 18 One keeper bad, two keepers good, three keepers bad. Wasn't sensible to have three vying for top spot. Any third keeper should be a promising one from the youth team. Ideally, you have to have the preferred first team squad either starting or on the bench.
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bstokesaint added 12:46 - Dec 18 KD all day long. And either decide if Boruc is up for it or get a new keeper in the window. It's hard to see us getting Butland with Liverpool and Everton after his signature. It's a shame because I saw enough of him in the Olympic games to know he looks a decent prospect.
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SaintNick added 12:48 - Dec 18 Butland is a good prospect but has never played in the premiership and has limited experience in the Championship even, I dont think he is what we need at present, we need experience
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 09:32 - Dec 19 I think Saints should go for Butland. We've got a good chance of getting him as he's previously said he'll only go to the Premiership if he'll be number 1. He wants first team football and he'd get that at Saints. He's going to be a top keeper and is already better than what we've got. He's the best young English keeper in the country and now is the time to buy as Birmingham have to sell! As for Saturday, it has to be Kelvin Davis in goal against his old club.

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ardashuxford added 09:57 - Dec 19 Against Reading Kelvin failed to catch two crosses which were inside the 6 yard box, one resulted in a header hitting the post, the other a header inches wide, with Kelvin no where near either. A better team would have scored both and we would have lost. Gazza would have either caught or punched both crosses because he commands the 6 yard area AND communicates with the defence. Until Kelvin learns to deal with crosses and stop shots low to his left side there is only one keeper to save us, Gazza (or Paul Robinson if we buy him in January).

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SaintJez added 15:06 - Dec 19 I would like to see Friedel arrive in Jan. I can't believe he wants to sit on the bench at this stage in his career and we could guarantee him a starting place in a premiership team. He may not be a long term prospect but he's very consistent, assured and clearly keeps himself extremely fit judging by the number of games he's missed in the last 10 years. In general, I also like Paul Robinson but he's another keeper prone to making mistakes at times and I note he's just been dropped by Blackburn so I assume he's not having a great year (though I can't say I've seen him play much this season).

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 17:12 - Dec 19 Brad Friedel would be a superb signing, he's still a top top keeper, but there's little chance of that deal happening. He says he's happy at Spurs and they don't want to let him go.
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