Whether fans like it or not (they mostly don’t, depending on the circumstances), time-wasting is an essential component of what we call the beautiful game. It comes in all forms and sizes; if a lower-ranked Premier League team is on the verge of defeating a Goliath, they have grown accustomed to storming into the corner and slugging it out with the opposition.
It’s also a frowned-upon approach for any Premier League club, regardless of talent, to drag down the time for any reason. Whoever it is, viewers are seeing significantly less open-play football during games than in prior years.
Of course, wasting time has become a common feature of football in England’s top division, and Opta research has revealed that there are numerous perpetrators who seem to delay the action more than others. From Arsenal and Manchester City to Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, here’s how long it takes every Premier League team, in seconds, to restart play after a goal kick or a throw-in.
20-17
Despite failing to adjust to life without Matheus Cunha, rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers are making a concerted attempt to get the ball back into play, with an average delay time of 24.1 seconds. Manchester City, who are trying to reclaim their title as England’s champions, are slightly ahead by 25.6 seconds on average.
Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest and Arne Slot’s Liverpool come in second and third place, respectively. The former average 26.4 seconds to return the ball to play, while the latter, who are chasing their third Premier League crown this season and their second under the Dutchman’s leadership, average 26.8 seconds.
Rank
Team
Average time of delay (seconds)
20.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
24.1
19.
Manchester City
25.6
18.
Nottingham Forest
26.4
17.
Liverpool
26.8
16-13
Despite the fact that it is early days, David Moyes has Everton fans excited about the chance of finishing in a European slot. The arrivals of Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have started the Hill Dickinson Stadium era with an appealing type of football that supporters want to see every minute of. On average, the Toffees keep the ball out of play for 27.1 seconds.
Fulham have had a disjointed start to the season, but, like the aforementioned Merseysiders, they are eager to offer Craven Cottage with as much action as possible. Even though this has resulted in them winning only two of their first seven matches.
Despite the fact that the season is still in its early stages, West Ham United is already struggling for every point as if their Premier League survival is on the line, but it hasn’t stopped their breaks in play from being relatively short. The Londoners have averaged a 27.4-second delay in action, which is 0.2 seconds less than Bournemouth’s average delay.
Rank
Team
Average time of delay (seconds)
16.
Everton
27.1
15.
Fulham
27.1
14.
West Ham United
27.4
13.
Bournemouth
27.6
12-9
Tottenham Hotspur, the reigning Europa League champions, will be looking for a stronger domestic season this time around, and new manager Thomas Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in the summer, has started to improve matters. Aside from a few hiccups, Spurs’ prospects are looking lot brighter, and this is without the dark arts approach of wasting time.
The same might be stated for Fabian Hurzeler’s men on the coast. Brighton & Hove Albion, who began their 2025/26 Premier League season with a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham, have been in the middle of the time-wasting leaderboard, alongside Leeds United. Daniel Farke’s team has squandered an average of 29.3 seconds when the ball has been out of play for whatever reason.
Aston Villa, coached by Unai Emery, are just finding their way into the top ten after wasting 29.4 seconds on average every time the ball went out of play this season. Things haven’t gone so well for the Midlands-based team since the season began in August, but they show no signs of wanting to slow down and capitalise on the situation.
Rank
Team
Average time of delay (seconds)
12.
Tottenham Hotspur
27.7
11.
Brighton and Hove Albion
28.6
10.
Leeds United
29.3
9.
Aston Villa
29.4
8-5
Chelsea and Newcastle United, led by Enzo Maresca and Eddie Howe, respectively, in England’s top flight, are two teams looking to secure top-four status this season – and each have an identical chance of doing so. The former has started far better than the latter, but there is little difference between them in terms of how long it has taken to resume play in 2025/26.
This season, the West Londoners have needed an average of 29.5 seconds to get back up and running, while the Magpies are only 0.2 seconds slower than the Blues. Crystal Palace, the current FA Cup holders, are undoubtedly on the rise following their success under Oliver Glasner. This season, Selhurst Park has squandered an average of 30.6 seconds.
Manchester United need to fix something, and their porous midfield has often resulted in them giving up a lot of readily defendable chances. By that logic, you’d expect the Red Devils to take their time getting the ball back into play – and judging by the figures, they’ve been in no hurry to play football. So far, it has taken them 31 seconds to get the ball back onto the pitch.
Rank
Team
Average time of delay (seconds)
8.
Chelsea
29.5
7.
Newcastle United
29.7
6.
Crystal Palace
30.6
5.
Manchester United
31
4-1
Into the so-called most time-wasting quartet in England’s top flight, starting with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who have come agonisingly close to winning the title in back-to-back seasons. It remains to be seen whether this season will be their time, but they have wasted a lot of time so far, taking an average of 31 seconds to get the ball back in play.
Premier League newcomers According to the figures, Sunderland is likewise not in a hurry to resume play this season. That is most likely why Regis Le Bris’ team has performed so well in the early stages of the 2025/26 season, with an average delay of 32.3 seconds.
On a similar note, Scott Parker’s Burnley aren’t rushing to resume play once the ball is out of play. The Clarets, who have won only one match since returning to the promised land owing to their promotion campaign in 2024/25, will take 32.7 seconds to return to action this season.
Brentford, captained by Keith Andrews, spends the most time moving the ball into play among the Premier League’s 20 teams, taking 33.5 seconds on average. Given how poorly they’ve started the campaign, it’s possible that this is a strategy to slow down play.
Rank
Team
Average time of delay (seconds)
4.
Arsenal
31
3.
Sunderland
32.3
2.
Burnley
32.7
1.
Brentford
33.5
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