One of the most annoying things a football team can do is waste time. It can be frustrating to see your team battle valiantly to achieve a victory as the opposition does everything in their power to stop them and run out of time. On the other hand, squandering time is a necessary evil when the roles are flipped and your team is winning.
Teams can be seen squandering time everywhere in the world, whether it’s in the Saudi Pro League, the Premier League, or the Champions League. According to a Daily Mail survey, Opta has identified the top time-wasters in the English top flight. The average amount of time wasted by each Premier League side during a game has actually been made public, and the findings are quite unexpected.
Some of the names at the top and bottom of the table are quite obvious when you look at how many seconds each team wastes taking set-pieces like goal kicks and corners, but some of the revelations are pretty startling. Let’s examine the complete standings.
Based on the number of wasted seconds per game, each Premier League side is ranked.
Rank
Group
Average amount of time lost for each set-piece
One
The Arsenal
31.8
2.
City of Leicester
31.7
3.
Brentford
31.2
4.
Wanderers of Wolverhampton
30.8
5.
Villa Aston
30.4
6.
Everton
30.3
7.
Chelsea
29.3
8.
Albion, Brighton & Hove
29.2
9.
Forest of Nottingham
29.2
10.
Newcastle United
29.0
11.
Town of Ipswich
28.7
Twelve
United Manchester
27.6
13.
The Bournemouth
27.5
14
Southampton
26.9
15.
Fulham
26.4
16
City of Manchester
25.4
17
The Crystal Palace
24.4
18
Tottenham Hotspur
24.2
19.
Liverpool
24.1
20
United West Ham
23.9
The Lowest Time-Wasters
West Ham United have the shortest delays
West Ham United can at least find comfort in the fact that, on average, they are currently wasting less time than any other team in the Premier League when taking set-pieces, even though the 2024–25 season has started off poorly. When it comes to corners, free kicks, goal kicks, and throw-ins, the Hammers only take 23.9 seconds. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are not far behind, with averages of 24.1 and 24.2 seconds, respectively.
Among the teams that waste the least amount of time are Crystal Palace, Manchester City, and Fulham, with respective set-piece times of 24.4, 25.4, and 26.4 seconds. There are several reasons why they are at the bottom. There hasn’t been much of a need for West Ham and Palace to try to cut down on minutes in either of their games because they both had bad starts to the season and neither team has held a lead in games for very long.
Teams like City and Liverpool have dominated the season thus far and are typically well ahead at the end of a game. They don’t feel the need to waste time since they don’t frequently find themselves under pressure and with their backs to the wall.
The Centre of the Pack
Here, teams like Ipswich Town and Manchester United are included.
We have teams like Manchester United and Ipswich Town in the middle of the pack. However, we start with Southampton and Bournemouth, who waste 26.9 and 27.5 seconds per set-piece, respectively, in 14th and 13th place. Erik ten Hag’s average time before taking set pieces is 27.6 seconds, which puts the Red Devils in 12th place. United has had a mixed start to the season, starting with just seven points out of a possible eighteen.
New boys in the Premier League Next up, at 28.7 seconds, is Ipswich Town. Their return to the top division has been difficult, and they are yet to secure their first major victory. Chelsea, Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle United are all only a hair above the Tractor Boys. They take a set-piece on average in 29.0, 29.2, 29.2, and 29.3 seconds, respectively. But then there’s a massive leap into the top half of the table and the Premier League’s biggest time wasters.
Right now, Arsenal’s biggest time wasters are at the top of the charts.
According to an Opta study, Arsenal is the English Premier League’s biggest time waster. Despite their reputation for playing disciplined, defensively sound football, Mikel Arteta’s team was accused of wasting time during their most recent 2-2 draw with Man City. The fact that the Gunners take the longest to take set pieces of any club in the top tier supports those charges. Prior to taking corners, free kicks, throw-ins, and goal kicks, they have a 31.8-second delay. Against Pep Guardiola’s team, their theatrics were on full display. They spent most of the game protecting a lead with ten men before John Stones broke their hearts in the 97th minute.
Leicester City is just a hair behind them, taking set pieces in 0.01 seconds less than Arteta’s team. The Foxes have yet to win a game this season and haven’t had a great start to life back in the top division. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford are not far behind Leicester. Between set-pieces, the two average 31.2 and 30.8 seconds, respectively. They have had quite different starts to the season; the former has won two of their first five games and is currently in 12th place, while the latter has lost four of their first five games and is in last place.
Everton and Aston Villa complete the top half of the list. The Toffees take 30.3, while Unai Emery’s team takes 30.4 seconds before taking a set-piece. Their antics have also produced quite different outcomes; Villa is currently third in the league, while Sean Dyche’s team has only gained one point this season and has already seen two 2-0 leads blow out.
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