The results are in!
The 2025/26 Premier League season has been rife with suggestions that the standard of play has been worse than ever, following the rising dominance of the set piece goal, and growing accusations that top teams are relying on time wasting tactics — rather than superior play— to close out victories.
Take the recent midweek clash between Leeds and Sunderland.
Opta stat expert Jonny Cooper was quick to notice how little of the game actually featured typical fluent on-pitch play, taking to X to say: “[the] second half of tonight’s match between Leeds and Sunderland lasted for 57 minutes and 54 seconds – supporters were treated to just 24 minutes and 24 seconds of actual ball in play time, a whopping 42%”
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As has been the case since time immemorial, one of the easiest ways for football teams to waste time is via their goalkeepers, who have been known to take far longer than their maximum 8 seconds to take goal kicks, — or after what is called a “pick up or claim” — in order to chip vital minutes off the clock.
Whether this is a tactic utilised by every Premier League side however, is something of a disputed fact.
Fortunately, thanks to The Athletic’s Stuart James, we have a conclusive answer as to which goalkeepers waste the most time, or at least take the most time to move the ball forward after a claim.
As the above table indicates, the truth is packed full of surprises.
Rather than David Raya, between the sticks for league leaders Arsenal, the goalkeeper who “wastes the most time” is in fact Man United’s Senne Lammens, taking almost 8 seconds on average to move the ball forward.
Raya is in fact just 3rd fastest, when it comes to releasing the ball.
At 3.96 seconds on average, only Bournemouth’s Petrovic and Nick Pope were quicker than Raya.
#Premier #League #goalkeepers #wasted #time #season
