Jamie Carragher backs David Dein's call for a countdown clock and independent timekeeping

Jamie Carragher has thrown his support behind drives to promote the use of a countdown clock and independent timekeeping during football matches.

Former FA and Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has called for the proposals after it was revealed that Arsenal's Premier League game with Newcastle United saw the ball in play for just 51 minutes on Tuesday in their 0-0 draw - with Toon players accused of wasting time to earn a well earned point.

The Emirates Stadium clash paled in comparison to other Premier League games in terms of in-play time, with the average in the top flight this season at just over 55 minutes.

Just two minutes were added on in the first half at the Emirates Stadium, while, to Gunners boss Mikel Arteta's fury only five were allocated in the second period - although seven were played.

Carragher responded to Dein's proposals on Twitter with an arrow pointing towards Dein's comments and a '100' symbol while also tagging in the Premier League's Twitter account.

Timekeeping during games is currently maintained by referees but Dein believes match officials will welcome relinquishing the duty to allow them to focus more on the game.

Dein has presented a time-keeping proposal, called 'Pure Time' to FIFA referee chiefs with hopes they will at least discuss the issue in an annual International FA Board' (IFAB) meeting held in March with the hope of holding a trial in a tournament.

Dein also believes fans should be able to see the time being monitored via a countdown clock, telling The Times: 'The time has come for transparency via a countdown clock so the public can actually see how much time is left. It should not be a national secret.

'I’m not saying the clock should be stopped every time the ball goes out of play, but certainly for those incidents which cause the greatest delays: goal celebrations, substitutions, penalties, injuries and now VAR checks.'

Debates over how long the ball is in play became a big talking point during the World Cup in Qatar after FIFA urged referees to become stricter over the amount of time they added on for stoppages.

It led to unfamiliar amounts of stoppage time but also appeared to produce benefits with the ball in play for just under an hour during the tournament.