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Kelvin Davis Should Be Given A Testimonial

It is rare these days that a player completes 10 years at a club but that is just what Kelvin Davis will have done by the end of the coming season.

The era of players remaining loyal to one club throughout their career is long gone and it is very rare that a player with a club in the top two divisions manages to complete a decade at one club, it is even rarer that a player who has done that hasn't been at the club from a youngster but has been signed relatively late in his career.

So perhaps it is right that Southampton Football Club recognise the efforts put in by Kelvin Davis for them over what will be by the time his contract runs out in the summer of 2016, 10 full seasons.

I have to admit I have not always been the biggest admirer of Kelvin, his first two seasons were not the best, but he stayed focused and made his third season a good one followed by several more that saw us rise from the depths of League One and back to the Premier.

Indeed he could have left the club in the summer of 2008 at its darkest hour, West Ham United were offering him good money to be their reserve keeper and with Saints in administration and at that point a serious buyer not in sight it must have been tempting, but he stayed loyal and enjoyed three good seasons including an appearance at Wembley.

Since being back in the Premier his games have been less and less and he has found himself playing second fiddle to Arturo Boric, Fraser Forster and even Paulo Gazzaniga at times, but he hasn't complained he has got on with things and you have the feeling that his presence in the dressing room and around Stapleford is vital.

Now he enters the last season of his contract and turning 39 in September it will surely be his last for Saints.

That being the case Saints now need to do two things, firstly they need to award him a testimonial game for the end of season 2015/16 and secondly they need to offer him a role within the club when he hangs up his gloves.

In the Cortése years our club legends were not only airbrushed from history but in the case of at least two they were treated disgracefully. That all seems to be changing under the new regime so awarding Kelvin a testimonial would be a great way of showing the fans that we are building something here on great foundations.

So come on Saints honour Kelvin he has been a great servant to Southampton Football Club, he not only deserves this game, but deserves his place in the club history book.

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