When you think of Southampton, you may think of a solid youth system that brings in the money, and not much else. However, recent times have seen that change, and especially since the appointment of Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino, there has been a very different feeling around St. Mary's.

So, what's changed? What's happened to the Saints we knew, and couldn't help but love before? Well, they've improved and developed leaps and bounds since their torrid day, on May 15th, 2005 - the day that saw the Saints relegated after 27 years at the top of the English game. In possibly the closest relegation fight ever in the Premier League, no team was mathematically relegated before the final day began, and although they could have stayed up, a 2-1 home loss to Manchester United saw Harry Redknapp's side go down in 20th spot.

After Nigel Adkins was out the door, and Argentine Pochettino stepped in, So'ton finished in a respectable 14th in their first season back in top division football. Although fans were delighted, those in the rafters of the hierachy at the club wanted more, which provoked a new lease of life in the Saint's spending scheme.

In previous years, we've seen the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gareth Bale all emerge from the infamous Southampton youth programme, and it's become widely known on one of the best young player systems in the UK. Although going about your business in this way is a great way of saving money, it can't work for too long - as we've seen with Arsenal recently. But what Southampton have managed to do, is get out of the habit before it's too late.

That's right. They've started spending money... big, big money. With Rickie Lambert in the form of his life at the moment, the Saints have blown a whopping £12.8m on Argentine striker Pablo Osvaldo, £12.5m of Kenya's robust playmaker Victor Wanyama, and highly rated Croat defender Dejan Lovren, for £8.5m. The big spending makes the ambitions at St Mary's incredibly clear - they're going all out.

What can we expect from this though, has their youth system fallen to pieces?

Well, not in the slightest. Southampton's youth policy is still producing extrememly talented youngsters, most recognisably 18-year-old Luke Shaw, an exciting young prospect who plays at left back. Southampton were extremely quick to get Shaw's signature in their books after a cracking first season at just 17 years of age, and on his 18th birthday, Saints confronted him with the offer of a five year deal.

Shaw had the year of his life last season, impressing many across the country in a Saints shirt.

All of this bodes well for Southampton. After an decent finish in last season's campaign, big spending show's that their sights are set higher up that table, and they're most certainly in the runnings for a top ten finish.

Southampton have clearly used their brains, a strong youth system is now merging with an outgoing bill for big name transfers, and it's all looking good for the lads down South. All I can say is, it must be an exciting time to be a Saints fan.

Several pundits and media centres around the world are seeming to have a tough time remembering the names and faces of the Manchester United squad!

Above, see NBC's Dutch mix up, as they labelled United prolific striker Robin van Persie as a former Reds' goal getter Ruud van Nistelrooy!

Below, can you spot the mistakes that the BBC made on the first week back of match of the day?

Who said Welbeck had lost his touch? Still think he's overrated and isn't good enough for the Premier League or England? Well, be prepared to eat your words as he scored his second of the day with one of the finest chips you'll see this season.

With United's transfer window having been a particularly quiet one, it makes it even more interesting that two crucial squad numbers are still vacant in the team. While it's a possibility that Kagawa (or someone else) could move to number seven, and van Persie to number nine, it's hard to get your head around what's going to happen.

Nobody had taken much notice of this until last weekend's Community Shield, in which we discovered Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia had reverted back to his old shirt number, twenty five, after a season long stint as United's number seven.

Either Valencia is a particularly supersticious man and blames his poor season on his number change, or United have cleared the number for a certain someone, and we all know who would get priority over that shirt number (and if you don't, he's a certain someone from the island of Madeira).

With 18 days left to go, are United looking to make two big-name transfers to acquire the numbers? Are they doing it to attract bigger players? With Rooney looking for an exit too, that'll leave nine and ten both vacant for big name strikers, while seven will remain a mystery for now...

It's one of the most controversial happenings in recent football history. Since Sir Alex retired as Manchester United manager, there has been a sense of unease around the United camp over the future and a certain Scouse goal getter. Since he joined in 2004, Wayne Rooney has bought nothing but goals to the Old Trafford faithful, and even after his first season, he was a clear fan favourite.

After it was all going so well, what is it that upset the apple cart? Well, the simply answer is greed. In 2010, after the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez had left the club, Rooney scrutinised United's lack of top quality players. Although the rattled Sir Alex and the club a little, Wayne stayed with the club and was awarded a new deal of £180,000 a week, almost doubling his previous wages.

After that chapter of the saga, United fans settled back down and began to love him again - which was followed a few months later by the unforgettable bicycle kick goal at City. All was going well for Wayne, still grabbing goals and still loved by the fans.



In the summer of 2012, Rooney got his wish as the club completed the signing of the flying Dutchman himself, Robin van Persie. Wayne had got what he wanted, a world class player alongside him in the starting line up. Although this had seemed to be a fantastic signing, it turned out to be where Rooney had shot himself in the foot, as throughout the 2012/13 season, RvP snatched the limelight from Wazza and became the new go-to man for goals.

This ruffled the feathers of Wayne Rooney, and on Sir Alex's departure, the veteran Scotsman announced that Rooney had formally submitted his second transfer request, which was to be denied by the club. Although the Scouseman is now earning money past the £200,000 a week mark, he remained unhappy and unsettled at the club, and this sparked interest from clubs around the world, but most notably, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and PSG.

In David Moyes' first press conference at United, it was clearly stated that Rooney was not up for sale, and he would remain at Old Trafford until his contract was up - by which time they would hope Rooney would sign a new contract. Running far infront of the other clubs in the race to sign Rooney is London club Chelsea, who have been rumoured to have offered in excess of £40m, plus Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku.

Moyes has continued to insist that Rooney is staying at the club, despite the two having history between each other. In 2006, Moyes filed a lawsuit against the striker for libel, after the Daily Mail had published extracts from his autobiography, claiming that Moyes had "leaked" Rooney's reasons behind leaving Everton. Moyes won the case, and Rooney was forced to pay £500,000 to Moyes, and he also formally apologised to the Scotsman. With all this behind them though, Moyes insisted Rooney was to stay.



After so many years, and so many goals, it's difficult to see why Rooney would want to leave United. At a club that has made so many legends that have had long and prosperous careers at United, such as Giggs, Neville and Scholes, why is there any reason to leave? At the mere age of 27, Rooney already sits in fourth of United all time top goalscorers, with 197 goals for the Red Devils. When one has the opportunity to brand themselves as a hero for a club, why shun that chance? Rooney is only three goals off of 200, and 53 away from becoming United's all time top goalscorer - that's two season's work if he gets his head down.

All of this links back to greed for Rooney, and that's where his problem lies. He doesn't seem interested in fans' affection or breaking club records, and it seems to be that he's focused on one thing, money. If he is to stay, what will happen? Can United fans forgive him a second time and then act like nothing has happened? There's one thing that is for certain though, and that is that he will have to go out there and earn his place alongside Robin van Persie if he does want a long and prosperous United career.

What do you think about the Rooney saga? Would he have already been out the window if Sir Alex was still in charge? Can he regain fans' affection once again? Leave a comment...

As a goalkeeper myself it's hard to see goalkeepers getting showered with praise one minute, only to be shot down with criticism the next. If you look in the grand scheme of things, the Premier League is full of world-class goalkeepers that often go un-noticed. Between the sticks is possible the most difficult position to play, and you're often left with the blame of conceding a goal. With so many different aspects to the position, we look over each of them, and see how to make the perfect goalkeeper.

Shot Stopping
The most simple goalkeeping skill, yet often the most impressive. Being able to hold on to shots, or at least parry them away, is key, especially when you're faced by world class finishers like Suarez, Van Persie or Michu. For this asset, I picked Manchester United's David De Gea. The young Spaniard is having a wail of a time in the Premier League right now, and at the moment he hasn't conceded for over 630 minutes of game play. Despite looking shaky when he joined United, he seems to have finally adapted to the English game. When he signed, we all realised that De Gea was a fantastic shot-stopper, and he was just uneasy to watch when dealing with high balls are so on. His mass improvement has seen him hit some major highs this season, including a call-up to the Spanish national team.

Wonder Save: Who can forget the save De Gea made from Mata's free kick? Was this the turning point for him?

One-on-Ones
Now this is possible the hardest area of goalkeeping to master. With an attacker running at you, at full pace, with the ball at his feet, get the timing wrong by the tenth of a second and it's a penalty, and probably a straight red. Timing and accuracy is everything, and I've seen none better than Tottenham's Hugo Lloris. A particularly big name signing for Spurs in the summer, it came as quite a shock to some. Infamous for being the keeper to end Brad Friedel's run of 310 consecutive appearances, fans and pundits seem to have forgotten that as they look on at a fine French keeper. He's a keeper with pace too, making the one-on-ones even easier as he's out and at the striker's feet in no time at all. Tottenham have conceded a few penalties this season, but none of the fouls were committed by the brave Lloris, who has eyes only for the ball each and every time he dives at the feet of an oncoming attacker.

Bravery: Lloris is never scared when putting his head amongst the studs.

Penalties
This is almost a win-win situation for goalkeepers - as long as you don't concede it yourself of course. If the player scores from a penalty then it's fine, no one expects you to save it, and if you do it's just an added bonus. However, being able to save them is still something that can be key to a team should he be faced by one. There were so many potential names on the shortlist, like De Gea, Cech or Szczesny - but the one who tops it for me, is Mark Schwarzer. Whenever faced with a penalty, 40-year-old Schwarzer never seems to be panicked by the situation, and acting calm under pressure, often keeps them out. Many commentators claim keepers "guess" which way to go, but there is so much more to it than that. In a split second, it's possible to tell which way the spot-kick taker is going to go, but margins are fine. Somehow, Schwarzer is able to do this successfully a lot of the time. Another classic keeper who's mastered this technique is former Liverpool and Manchester City shot-stopper David James.

Saviour: The 40-year-old Australian is a god-send when his team concede a spot-kick.

Agility
Being an agile goalkeeper means you can make the most breath-taking saves imaginable, and it's been something many managers look for in goalkeepers. Should Edwin Van Der Sar still be playing he'd have topped the list, as he often displayed phenomenal agility to make some unbelievable stops. While Ben Foster came a close second, Swansea's bargain keeper Michel Vorm is who wins it for me. Although he hasn't been able to show the form he did last season, Vorm is still a quality keeper and his agility can sometimes be unbelievable. He earned credibility last season after arriving at Swansea as a rather unknown name, but that quickly changed. He's now being snooped around by the likes of Barcelona and Arsenal, and most of the Dutchman jaw-dropping saves are down to his impeccable agility.

Unstoppable: Vorm seems to be able to reach shots to the most spectacular standards.

Aerial Ability
Yet another important area of goalkeeper, dealing with high balls can be the fine margin between a clean sheet and conceding. This was one of David De Gea's particular weaknesses last season, and was cleverly targeted by opposition. Although he's improved, it's Chelsea's Petr Cech who claims victory in this area. Obviously his height is key, standing at 6' 5", the hero in the helmet finds it easy to get above attackers at corners and free kick. He's got a good punch on him too, just in case the ball is too difficult to handle, and being able to deal with every situation is key. After suffering a head and brain injury, Cech's future in the game was doubted. He was hospitalised for ten days, and to this day he has no memory of the injury. Despite being advised to stay out of the game for a year, Cech returned three months later with a scrum cap on, and seems to be playing stronger than ever at the moment.

High Rise: Cech towers above his fellow team-mates and attackers to get the ball to safety.

Distribution
Getting the ball out accurately can be the difference between scoring and not. With the pace of the game forever rising, a quick counter attack seems to be more deadly than ever, and it can all start with the quality of the ball from the keeper. While De Gea and Joe Hart both come close, it's Liverpool's first choice keeper José Pepe Reina. Throwing or booting the ball upfield, Reina completes his passes with pin-point precision and with a man like Luiz Suarez upfront, it creates goal after goal. You can see the difference when Brad Jones gets the call up if Reina happens to be injured, they counter attack doesn't seem to be as deadly when the ball played up isn't as accurate. It's a shame Reina never broke through in to the Spain squad, with the likes of Casillas and Valdes competing for the same position, but the Liverpool man's style of play could've really benefited the national side.

Pin-Point: Reina's accuracy has been the starting point of many Liverpool goals over the years.

So after all of that, we've got our perfect Premier League goalkeeper. There are some names in there, especially Schwarzer and Vorm, who possibly don't receive the praise they should do for the effort and talent they bring to their respective sides. Goalkeepers might be the crazy ones, but who could blame them with the amount of pressure playing in the position comes with. Just imagine if we could combine the six, that'd be some goalkeeper...

What do you think? Who's your favourite goalkeeper, and why?

Its not easy to miss the fact there are now so many youthful and talented players. Ten or twenty years back, players were known to peak in their late twenties, but now with teenagers being world beaters themselves, it'll be great to see them when they're at that age. I think you could make a pretty strong team out of eleven under 23's, so we take a look at who got the call up.

Goalkeeper | David de Gea | Manchester United
It's clear that since his £17m move to United, the 21-year-old Spaniard has come on leaps and bounds. He hasn't conceded it the Premier League for 537 consecutive minutes, and he was key in the two legs against Real Madrid last month, and early this month. He's always been one of the best shot-stoppers in the game since his breakthrough, but he's managed to develop other aspects of his game, and is now, certainly, the best young goalkeeper in the world.

Right Back | Rafael da Silva | Manchester United
Since establishing himself in United's starting eleven, Rafael has been unstoppable. Although he was rather in-and-out last season and couldn't break through, this season is a completely different tale. With his twin brother on loan at QPR, Rafael has come on leaps and bounds, and is a rock solid full back. Not only that, his confidence has improved too, and you'll often see him supporting attacks and maybe even grabbing a goal or two.



Centre Back | Raphael Varane | Real Madrid
You know this guy is impressive when you find out he was picked ahead of Pepé against United. He's young, strong, fast and very talented. The young Frenchman recently earned his call up to national duty too, and its hard to say he doesn't deserve it. He's made eleven La Liga appearances and only been dribbled past twice, and has makes, on average, an impressive 6.8 clearances per game. Still a teenager, he's certainly one to look out for in the future.

Centre Back | Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Schalke 04
Playing in the Bundesliga, the 21-year-old is constantly faced with classy opposition - it just seems to be no problem whatsoever. The Greek centre back is a complete masterclass at the back, and ranks just behind Varane with his average number of clearances per game (6.2). He's powerful too, and is known to easily shrug an attacker off the ball with ease, and he's a man who can pass a ball with unerring accuracy, which is another asset to his game.



Left Back | Yaroslav Rakitskiy | Shakhtar Donetsk
Follow Shakhtar's recent Champions League run against sides like Arsenal, Rakitskiy really established himself on the world stage. He began to impress critics back in 2011 at the Under-21's Championships, where he was even noted as one to watch before the tournament. At the age of 23 he's already got 20 senior international caps under his belt, and he doesn't look like stopping any time soon. He's a man with pace, and he loves a good, strong tackle - so he's very hard to beat.

Right Midfield | Lucas Moura | Paris Saint-Germain
Another young player with plenty of international experience already, Moura has 23 international caps at the age of just 20. When you can break in to an international side so quickly its certainly impressive, but even more so when that side is Brazil. He's able to play behind the striker(s) or out wide on the right, he's a player that is an asset to any team. With high-profile teams such as Manchester United and Inter Milan looking to acquire his services, it was PSG who swooped in with a £38m transfer fee.

Centre Midfield | Jack Wilshere | Arsenal
Wilshere is well known to all of us, as he makes impressive appearances for Arsenal week in week out in the Premier League. His passing ability and he eye for a long ball has left him being sought after as a young Paul Scholes. With Lampard and Gerrard slowly coming closer to retirement, and player by the likes of Wilshere is exactly what the English national side need. He's also been seen as the future captain of the England national side - what an accolade for such a young, aspiring player.



Left Midfield | Eden Hazard | Chelsea
Possibly the best player in the Premier League right now, Hazard was often overlooked while playing among others like Rooney, Suarez and Bale. But this season, that Belgian has really hit the ground running and impressed everyone. Each and every week he seems to show us a new part of his game, and seems like a world-beater at times. At the age of just 22, and with over 30 international caps under his belt, there's a lot going for this young lad.

Centre Attacking Midfield | Iker Muniain | Atletic Bilbao
This guy broke on to the world stage when United fell in to the Europa League last season and faced a strong Bilbao side. At the raw age of 20, Iker Muniain is a very impressive player, often leaving pundits speechless with his ability. Often over looked when you think of new, upcoming talents, but I can assure you it won't be long until he breaks in to the national team - even one as strong as Spain. This boy has some serious talent.


Yes, his name's a mouthful, but bloody hell is he a good player. He's really broken in to this stride this season at AC. He's scored 16 goals too, and sits second on the Serie A top scorers list. He's got flair, natural ability and raw talent, not to forget his immense pace. Most recently, the young Italian proved himself on the world against Barcelona, and despite not scoring, he did provide an assist in the first leg. A very, very impressive player...

Striker | Neymar | Santos
What, you didn't think I'd miss him out, did you? At 21 he's already established himself globally. He's been known to pull off fancy flicks and tricks that seem to defy the laws of physics, but he manages it. Despite often losing his temper, and being no stranger to a red card, Neymar is simply world class on his day, and has already been compared to the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, and has been dubbed the third best in the world. The real test for this young lad would be to impress in a bigger league though, somewhere like Spain or England - that'd really prove his worth.

Players who didn't quite make the cut:
Mario Gotze - the young German is a pass-master, and has already established himself on the world stage, attracting teams along the lines of Real Madrid and Manchester United
Mario Balotelli - despite having a torrid time at Manchester City, since his move to AC Milan he's been on a different level. Simply unbeatable, Super Mario has now scored seven in six games for Milan.
Thibaut Courtois - the 20-year-old goalkeeper from Belgium has really impressed in La Liga this season. On loan from Chelsea, the Blues will do very well if they can hold on to him. - See more at: http://www.welkinfootball.com/2013/03/world-xi-under-23.html#sthash.c6nI8Be1.dpuf