Since the 2013/14 season, we have seen a two-minute decline in the amount of time the football has been in play in the Premier League. According to a study by Opta, the ball is in for play around 54 minutes of the 90 on average.
At a time when ticket prices are skyrocketing, football fans are actually seeing less football being played by the minute. A number of players are booked for time-wasting now, but the general trend seems to be a decline in the amount of actual playing time.
Here is the average time the ball is in play per club in the Premier League:
Man City 60:27
Brighton 57:14
Liverpool 57:11
Chelsea 56:54
Arsenal 56:16
Man United 56:05
C Palace 55:31
West Ham 55:22
Leicester 55:10
Norwich 54:52
Wolves 54:36
Spurs 54:33
Burnley 54:00
Newcastle 53:59
Watford 53:26
Everton 52:34
Leeds 52:23
Southampton 52:16
Brentford 52:01
Aston Villa 49:23
(Stats via the Daily Mail)
As shown in the figures, Aston Villa are guilty of the most amount of time wasting in England. On average, only 49 minutes of their games have the ball in play. On the other side of the spectrum, Manchester City have 60 minutes of actual outfield play.
Clubs like City, Brighton and Chelsea are more comfortable in possession and don’t rely on play stoppages for rest. Long times for set piece preparations are one of the main reasons behind the amount of time being reduced.
This figure might rise later, but for now, the numbers seem to be quite discouraging for the fans since they are getting less football to watch.
