I DON’T make a habit of reminiscing over old Telegraph & Argus match blogs.

Updates from games as they happen don’t tend to make the most interesting reading months or even years later.

Remember that shot from Garry Thompson that flew high and wide in the first half at Southend? Or the Rory McArdle block that diverted a shot on goal into a Walsall corner? Nope, me neither.

But one glance into the website “history” neatly summed up the contribution that Andrew Davies put in during his near four years’ service in the claret and amber.

The match in question was against Northampton. No, not that one at Wembley when he could have played most of it with a cigar in his mouth, but the League Two encounter at Valley Parade the month earlier.

It was the moment when the Bantam bandwagon really started to rumble along the highway. That was the afternoon that we all started to genuinely believe again in City’s push for the play-offs and ultimately promotion from the goddamn basement division.

Contests with Aidy Boothroyd’s Northampton were never ones for the squeamish. Against such direct opposition, heads needed to go in where it hurts, bodies thrown on the line – you name the cliché, City needed it.

They were occasions made for defensive warriors like Davies. No wonder City’s record against the Cobblers was so impressive.

Northampton’s weapon of choice on that particular day was the long throw-in of bazooka-armed midfielder Ben Tozer. Load the box with big men and release the fury ...

But Davies' head was a magnet. Wherever the ball arrowed into the home penalty area, he was there; his blond mane rising above the ruck of bodies to divert from danger.

On that particular blog, I counted six occasions when Tozer’s booming bombs were defused by Davies. I probably missed others because it seemed to happen so often.

Davies shuffled out of the dressing room afterwards like a man twice his age. Shattered – but with a beaming grin on his face after a job magnificently done.

There were plenty of days like that in his 120-appearance stint with the club. An average hovering around 1.6 points per game for every time he started underlined the defender’s significant contribution in turning City from League Two also-rans to a side knocking on the door of the third tier play-offs.

Davies was a reassuring presence for the Valley Parade faithful; a comfort blanket on the pitch. If he was out there shoulder to shoulder with McArdle, then everything would be all right.

Unfortunately, there were just as many chunks of the season when he was not available. Last term, he started 34 games – his best for the club.

But Davies, who still missed 22 through injury, did not always last the pace. He had to come off injured six times – four in the first half and twice at the break.

McArdle, in contrast, started 20 games more and never failed to make it to the end.

Davies suggested with some justification that he was often pushed back for duty before his body was completely ready and that could trigger hamstring issues.

City, on the other hand, might question that his problems pointed to underlying physical issues that simply weren’t going to go away.

Those statistics clearly loomed large in the club’s thinking when they decided on a new contract offer that was based heavily on appearance money to top up his basic wage.

However big a player Davies has been on the pitch, it also had to be balanced with the considerable cost of when he is not available. That would also include potentially budgeting for someone else to fill the gap.

It may sound a hard-hearted business decision but one that, no doubt, most clubs would have followed. It’s telling that there was no obvious queue of English suitors after his services when it started to become clear that negotiations were stalling.

Ross County were prepared to let heart rule head and make Davies their marquee signing. On the face of it, that is some coup to land a former Premier League defender who only a few short months ago was resisting Chelsea and Sunderland.

They have got a born leader as captain – when he is in the trenches. Getting him into the thick of the action and keeping him there on a regular basis is the on-going challenge.

It hurts to see Davies talking this week about a top-six finish and realising he is referring to the Scottish Premier League and not the play-offs.

Like Gary Jones last summer, he is another iconic figure to slip out of the exit door. And given his move across the border, he will not be afforded the same goodbye that the former skipper received on his return at Christmas.

The spotlight is now on Phil Parkinson to summon a suitable replacement for the heart of the back four. Many have tried during Davies’ protracted spells on the sidelines, not many have succeeded.

In most eyes, the wisdom of City’s hard-ball stance over Davies will be judged on who has to fill those considerable boots.