The Premier League's worst offenders for time-wasting have been revealed - and it is not Newcastle, surprising new data shows.
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 Arsenal, 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 'gamesmanship' tactics.
But statistics have shown the Magpies are not the worst time-wasters in the division - though their goalkeeper Nick Pope is a serial offender at taking his time with goal-kicks.
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 - and it is also possible in Newcastle's games, their opponents are equally, if not more, complicit in slowing the game down.
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, corners and free kicks, for example).
In that graphic, Newcastle are still pretty culpable, but are not the biggest time-wasters.
That dubious honour belongs to 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 Arsenal doing the same thing.
