IT'S KELVIN DAVIS WEEK!!

From Saints Hub....
Kelvin Davis is an English goal keeper who was born in Bedford on 29 September 1976. Davis began his career at Luton Town in the early nineties and turned professional in 1994. He made his first senior appearance on loan at Torquay in September 1994, playing two matches for the Plainmoor club while first choice keeper Ashley Barnes was injured.

After a second loan spell at Hartlepool in 1997 Davis established himself as first choice keeper at Kenilworth Road. His form earned him a move to Premiership Wimbledon in July 1999 for a fee of £600,000. Davis spent his first season at The Dons on the bench behind first choice keeper Neil Sullivan. Wimbledon were relegated at the end of Kelvin's first season with the club. This was a blessing in disguise for Davis however, who became the club's number one keeper after Sullivan left for Tottenham. Davis remained first choice for Wimbledon for the next three years, as the club announced the shock decision to relocate to Milton Keynes.

In 2003 Ipswich Town signed Davis on a free transfer after the departure of Matteo Sereni. Davis enjoyed an impressive two year spell at Portman Road, reaching the play-offs in both years. The second season Town finished 3rd and Davis was named Championship goalkeeper of the year.

In 2005 Mick McCarthy's Sunderland paid £1.25million to bring Davis to The Stadium of Light. Kelvin's spell at The Black Cat's was a disaster however, as Sunderland were relegated with what was the lowest points total for a Premiership season ever at the time. Worst still, Davis was to blame for many of the goals Sunderland conceded that season. He made countless errors, including one in a home defeat to Portsmouth where he was lobbed from 40 yards by Matthew Taylor. He had another shocker in the big derby against Newcastle, where Sunderland lost 4-1. It's fair to say Sunderland fans didn't shed any tears in the summer of 2006, when he made the move down south to George Burley's Southampton.

Davis first appearance for Saints came in a friendly at Bristol City. His first competitive outing was the opening game of the 2006/07 season at Derby. He made a solid start in first month at the club, until a match against QPR at the end of the September where his blunder gifted Ray Jones a goal and a win for Rangers. That performance led many Saints fans questioning Kelvin's abilities. When he was involved in an on pitch argument with Chris Baird, fans chanted Baird's name, another sign that Saints fans hadn't warmed to Davis. He continued to be hit and miss for the club until March when he was suspended for an off the ball incident in a match against Stoke. With Davis out Bartosz Bialkowski seized his chance and put in a number of decent displays, and even saved a penalty in the 6-0 win at Wolves. After his suspension was up, Bialkowski kept his place in goal until a mistake in the play-off semi final first leg against Derby. Davis was back in goal for the second leg, but could have done better when conceding Derby's opening goal. The game finished 4-4 on aggregate and Davis was unable to prevent Derby going through on penalties.

The 2007/08 season didn't get much better for Davis. Southampton's defence was very leaky, and Davis still hadn't won over a lot of fans. Kelvin's popularity at the club hit rock bottom in a 5-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on 10th November. As the goals flew past Davis, the Saints fans behind the goal barracked the keeper and sarcastically chanted 'Davis for England'. Davis responded by throwing on offensive gesture to the fans, which didn't go down to well. Kelvin later apologised, but the damage was done in the eyes of many supporters. Davis went down with injury in a match at Wolves in March. Manager Nigel Pearson brought in Richard Wright on loan, who would remain number one choice between the sticks even when Davis regained full fitness. With Wright in excellent form, it looked like Kelvin's days at the club could be numbered. The club's precarious financial position meant they were unable to sign Wright however, so Davis would regain his number one spot for the 2008/09 season.

The 2008/09 season saw a remarkable turnaround for Davis. While the club was going through one of the worst periods of their history, Davis himself was having an excellent season. Kelvin put in some absolutely superb performances in the Saints goal, in a season where he was kept very busy. He saved a number of penalties, and made some saves that defied belief. One particular save was even compared to Gordon Banks famous stop against Pele in the 1970 World Cup (Much to Kelvin's amusement). He was also handed the captain's armband, after the retirement of Michael Svensson. Davis was deservedly named player of the season at the end of the campaign. He was the only real candidate. After previously being one of the clubs most unpopular players, Davis had well and truly won over even his harshest of critics. It's not unreasonable to suggest the club would have been relegated long before they actually were without Davis.

With Kelvin's contract up in the summer of 2009 and the club in financial peril, it looked certain Davis would move on. Despite Kelvin's desire to stay, the club couldn't offer him a new deal, and in late June he agreed terms with West Ham. Saints were bought by Marcus Liebherr in July however, and one of the first acts of the new regime was to offer Davis a new three year deal, which he happily accepted. Davis would have been reluctant to join West Ham, with his family well settled in Southampton. He would have also been playing second fiddle to Robert Green, which is not something he would have enjoyed at that stage of his career.

Davis continued where he left off the previous season in 2009/10. He was in terrific form for most of the season as the club overcame their 10 point deduction to reach 7th place in the table. He lost the captain's armband to Dean Hammond, but still remained a tremendous leader for the side. His performances remained strong during the next campaign, especially at home to Brighton where he save a penalty.

Some fans began to question Kelvin's performances again after blunders at Tranmere and Exeter in early 2011. He showed his true class at Bournemouth in March however, with a stunning finger tip saved when the score was at 2-1 (Saints went on to win 3-1). Davis was named in the 2010/11 League 1 team of the year on 19th April 2011. He ended the season with 20 clean sheets to his name, a club record.

In July 2011 Davis penned a contract extension keeping him at the club until 2014. On signing the deal Kelvin stated his desire to see out his playing career at the club.





From the Echo....
KELVIN Davis admitted his stunning display against Leeds is a contender for the best performance of his career.

The Saints keeper produced a string of remarkable saves that somehow preserved a 1-0 win against a rampant Leeds side at Elland Road. The club captain was mobbed by his grateful teammates at the final whistle, as Nigel Adkins’ men took another major step towards promotion.

While Davis was unable to completely quantify the magnitude of his performance, he was in no doubt it was one of his best ever.

“It’s got to be up there,” he said. “When it happens you never think it’s the best game you’ve ever had.

“You always think you’ve done better somewhere along the line.

“Maybe it’s not until a couple of years further when I look back on it and say it was.”

Saints manager Nigel Adkins described Davis as “unbeatable” although the keeper himself stopped short of any such declaration.