Since Southampton’s return to top flight football, St Mary’s Stadium has once again received frequent appearances on shows such as BBC’s Match of the Day, as well as being broadcast into the living rooms of homes around the world. But for those of you who have only seen St Mary’s through the television and haven’t experienced the thrills of a match day in the south coat of England, let me visualize it for you.

St Mary’s Stadium itself is located in the centre of Southampton, meaning it’s only a stone throw away from a selection of pubs and bars where supporters can grab a drink and bite to eat before and after kick-off. It’s also about a ten to fifteen minute walk from Southampton central train station, so fans don’t have too far to go.

Inside the 32,000 plus seater stadium, you’ll easily notice what section holds the livelier and louder fans. The Northam Stand is extremely popular amongst the die hard Southampton fans, and it is usually this stand that maintains the singing of famous Southampton chants, as well as starting them. The Northam Stand is also situated next to the away fans, but they are separated by barriers, stewards and sometimes police officers. St Mary’s also has a family section located in the Chapel Stand for those accompanied by younger children. This area of the stadium holds the quieter fans, except for the kids who get caught up in the excitement of the match day experience and put in strong performances chanting along with the rest of the crowd.

Like most grounds, St Mary’s has areas to purchase food and refreshments before the game and during half time. There is also some half time entertainment for those who don’t go to get food. The stadium holds a competition for two teams of kids that have to race around the touchline and score a goal, before their opponent does.

The area around the ground consists of residential areas and walkways to the high street and shopping centers. Directly outside of the ground, though, are food vendors selling hot dogs and burgers, as well as those selling match day programmes – the perfect memento to remember your time at St Mary’s.

So if you ever have the opportunity to attend a game at the south’s largest stadium (outside of London), you should do it. You’re in for a real treat.

This past week, FA chairman Greg Dyke expressed his fears about the future of England’s young footballing talent. Premier League teams such as Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham have all spent tens of millions of pounds this summer. Yet they have predominantly bought non-English players. Dyke fears that this sort of trend will leave young English players neglected from a chance at first team domestic football, meaning they will not excel at an international level. However, this is not the case for all clubs. For example, Southampton.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has made some surprising changes to Southampton’s first team this year – one of those changes being the first team selection of certain young players. The most surprising change  is the introduction of Calum Chambers at the back. Whilst he is a midfielder by trade, he can fill in as a full back when required. The 18 year old was impressive against West Brom, making some excellent tackles and passing the ball well. Whilst Chambers is definitely a player for the future, I think he isn’t quite ready for the Premier League. He was being beaten too easily against Norwich, and Nathan Redmond passed by him to score against the Saints. I would play Nathaniel Clyne in his place for the time being. Clyne is another young English player who has the pace and strength to keep midfielders and attackers at bay.

The other big surprise is the omission of Jack Cork. The 24 year old was brilliant for the 2012 Olympics squad and had a superb 2012/13 Premier League season. Like Chambers, he is a midfielder who can be played at the back when needed. He has great vision and can deliver perfect passes and crosses. So far his only appearance of the season came in the 5-1 defeat of Barnsley in the Capital One Cup, which is unfortunate because he is a player who deserves a regular first team spot. But with Schneiderlin and Wanyama still fit, Cork will find it difficult to get into the team currently.

The two other future talents for England are Southampton defender Luke Shaw and midfielder James Ward-Prowse. Both played in the England U21’s victory over Moldova at the Madejski stadium last night, and both have had great starts to this season. Shaw played a key part in Southampton’s victory at West Brom, whilst Ward-Prowse has been stellar in his crossing and passing so far – grabbing the assist in the draw with Sunderland. Both grabbed their first U21 caps last night, with Shaw almost scoring with a 25 yard half-volley.

Players such as Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez also have the ability to play at international levels, but are yet to prove as such this season. Lallana did have a great game against Norwich, but one good game is not enough. Over time though, I’m sure they’ll improve and find their form.

Southampton, as apparent, have an incredible line-up of young English players. And with one of the best youth academies in the country, they are certain to churn out more of the same.

The opening three games of the 2013/14 Premier League season may have seen Southampton pick up four points, but the South coast side have struggled to find the back of the net so far this season.

Southampton’s first goal came in a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, whilst their second came in a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s against Sunderland. Worryingly, both goals have come very late in their games; a penalty in stoppage time granting Saints the three points at The Hawthorns, and an 88th minute equalizer from defender Jose Fonte denying Sunderland their first win of the season. But why exactly have Southampton been struggling to find the net?

One reason could be the new look squad Mauricio Pochettino has created. The Argentine has brought in several new players in Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama, and record signing Pablo Osvaldo – as well as bringing in younger Saints grown players such as James Ward-Prowse and Calum Chambers. With all these new faces joining the starting eleven, it isn’t surprising that time is needed for all the players to gel together and find their rhythm. I suspect that the new starting eleven will find their goal scoring form very soon.

Similarly, the departure or omission of certain players could also be playing a factor in Southampton’s goal drought. Look at Jason Puncheon, for example. He scored six Premier League goals for the Saints last season, including some vital goals away to QPR and Chelsea. The 27 year old is now at Crystal Palace on a season long loan. I saw the highlights from their game against Sunderland and Puncheon was very impressive. I expect he’ll be key to Crystal Palace’s survival hopes, but hopefully Saints can depend on their other players. Otherwise they have made a huge mistake in letting him go.

Southampton have found the back of the net an extra two times, although these goals were incorrectly disallowed. Adam Lallana’s effort at The Hawthorns and Jay Rodriguez’s fine finish at St Mary’s were both wrongly given offside – showing how the Premier League officials have played their part in Southampton’s struggle to score.

Officials will make mistakes but they cannot solely be blamed. The harsh truth is that Southampton’s strike force has not been up to scratch. With a strike force of Rickie Lambert (the top English striker last season), Rodriguez, and new boy Osvaldo, Southampton should be scoring a lot more goals than they currently are. Pochettino should keep playing Osvaldo if he wants the Saints to score goals. The record signing can, and will, score if given time. Rodriguez should also keep playing. He may not have had the best start, but he too can find the space to score key goals.