Today Southampton FC
stand three points away from a long awaited return to the Premier League. The
club has been through some turbulent times and many changes since they relegation
from the top tier in 2005, and perhaps only one man at the club
fully appreciates the significance of what might be achieved at the Riverside
Stadium, Middlesbrough, this afternoon – Kelvin Davis.
Davis was recruited by
George Burley in the summer of 2006 as the club aimed for a top-flight return
at the second time of asking. His transfer was part of a £7m spending spree,
but in a season that failed to live up to its billing, his signing was perhaps
the most heavily criticised. After a successful stint with Ipswich, Davis had
been given a chance in the Premier League with Sunderland, but his one and only
season on Teesside was an unmitigated disaster – the team breaking the record
for the lowest ever points total for the Division.
His first season at St
Mary’s did little to justify Burley’s faith in the keeper; numerous errors cost
Southampton any real chance of automatic promotion and he eventually lost the number one shirt, only returning to the side as they crashed out of the
playoffs to Derby.
The spending that had
funded Davis’ transfer soon caught up with the club, and they were unable to
muster another challenge for promotion the following season, instead barely
hanging onto their Championship status on the final day of the season. Once
again Davis had lost his place in the team, and his days at St. Mary’s appeared
to be numbered as it was suspected that the financially stricken Saints might try
to recoup at least some of his £2m fee.
Instead, a new-look
management team looked to Davis’ experience to help guide a startlingly young
squad through increasingly unstable times at the club. Ultimately, the Saints
ended the season relegated and in administration, but Davis’ fine displays in a struggling side perhaps
meant more than he could have known at the time. His vastly improved form had instilled
new confidence in him from the stands, and the supporters' newfound appreciation for their
captain made all the difference as he opted to stay on in League 1 rather than
jump-ship, ironically, to West Ham.
In the wake of
exciting new ownership at St. Mary’s, Davis said he was determined to see
through the task that he been brought to the club to achieve – promotion to the
Premiership. That seemed a long way off when the club kicked off on minus ten
points in England’s third tier, but the club’s transition from perennial
underachievers to football-league tour de force has been swift. Less than three
years on, and Southampton are on the brink of an improbable return to
football’s top table under the stewardship of Nigel Adkins.
Davis has been vital
in the transformation and his position as fans’ favourite was further enhanced
after his astonishing performance won his side three points at Leeds in March. The
club captain was mobbed by his teammates at the final whistle at Elland Road,
and Davis’ reaction showed exactly what success this season would mean to him.
The denouement of Kelvin
Davis’ own personal journey could well coincide with Southampton’s Premier
League redemption. He, more than most, deserves a second shot at the big time.
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