The issue of time-wasting came to a head again on Sunday, with Newcastle United particularly unhappy with the perceived delaying tactics of Woolwich, who beat them 2-0 at St James' Park.
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REVEALED: The Premier League's worst time-wasters... and often-criticised Newcastle AREN'T the worst offenders (but Nick Pope is a serial slacker on goal kicks). So where is YOUR club on the list?
- Newcastle were angry about Woolwich's time-wasting in their 2-0 loss on Sunday
- Many have accused Newcastle of hypocrisy given their own 'gamesmanship'
- The league's worst time-wasters have been revealed, but Magpies are NOT top
By
MAX MATHEWS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:28 BST, 8 May 2023 | UPDATED: 13:16 BST, 8 May 2023
The Premier League's worst offenders for time-wasting have been revealed - but surprising new data shows that Newcastle are not the biggest culprits despite their criticism for 'gamesmanship' this season.
Time-wasting is dramatically affecting the English top-flight this season, with the average ball-in play percentage lower than France's Ligue 1, Italy's
Serie A and the German Bundesliga, with managers constantly complaining about it and referees under pressure to do more to stop it.
The issue came to a head once again on Sunday afternoon, with
Newcastle United particularly unhappy with the perceived delaying tactics of Woolwich, who beat them 2-0 at St James' Park.
Manager
Eddie Howe and No 2 Jason Tindall were not afraid to make their frustration known on the touchline, with their players similarly frustrated, though many have accused Newcastle of hypocrisy given their own frequent time-wasting tactics.
However, statistics have shown the Magpies are not the worst offenders in the division - though their goalkeeper Nick Pope is a serial offender at taking his time with goal-kicks.
Data shows Newcastle games have the lowest ball-in-play time - but that is not the full picture
Ball-in-play data shows Newcastle spend the least time with the ball on the field in their games, an average of just 52 per cent, 51min 15 sec, with Leeds (52.7 per cent), Brentford (52.8 per cent) and Aston Villa (54.4 per cent) also among the lowest.
Manchester City (61.8 per cent) and Liverpool, 58 per cent, are the teams with the highest average ball-in-play time, which makes sense given their preference for quick, incisive play and their trust in their team to deliver.
But it takes two to tango. It is also possible that in Newcastle's games, their opponents are equally, if not more, complicit in slowing the game down - as Crystal Palace did in securing a 0-0 draw on Tyneside earlier this season.
Free kicks and corners take an average of more than half a minute to be taken in the Premier League this season.
So it is more revealing to isolate individual teams based on how long they take on average to restart the game (after getting throw-ins, goal kicks and free kicks, for example).
EXCLUSIVE: Premier League asks for the nationalanthem to be PLAYED
In that graphic, Newcastle are still pretty culpable, but are not the biggest time-wasters.
That dubious honour belongs to Thomas Frank's streetwise Brentford, who take an average 31.4 seconds to restart play.
In the below chart, the 'delay' marks the average time between the ball going out and play recommencing across corners, free kicks, throw-ins, goal kicks, kick-offs, penalties and drop balls.
Howe and Co trail them on 29.9 seconds, marking them as the second-worst team in the division and suggesting their players and staff do not have a leg to stand on when complaining about Woolwich doing the same thing on Sunday.