Time wasting, it seems, is just part and parcel of the game nowadays.
Taking your time getting off while being substituted, kicking the ball away, briefing ball boys to not give the ball back, you see it in every game.
Maybe running down the clock is essential to a game that's certainly, more than ever, a "results business".
"There's too much money is at stake nowadays", and it's true, there is, but is time wasting ruining modern football? Or is it now just an essential defensive tactic?
In this week's midweek fixture, it was a hot topic. Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez was openly critical of Sam Allardyce's Everton's time wasting during his team's 1-0 defeat to the Toffees. In Liverpool's stalemate at home to West Brom, even more was made of the use of the "dark arts". WBA substitute Sam Fields was booked for unsportsmanlike conduct when he refused to give the ball to Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, even holding Gomez back.
But what good does booking a substitute do? A big shrug of the shoulders? Maybe a red card and a three match ban would deter this kind of behavior in future? Otherwise what's to stop this being as much a regular tactic as the slow walk off the field while being substituted in the 89th minute?
This goes for goalkeepers too. How many times have you watched a match and seen a goalie booked for time wasting? Countless times, right? OK, now how many times have you seen goalkeeper given a second yellow for further time wasting? I'm going to guess "never" is your answer.
If the keeper is booked in the second minute for time wasting, he now has 88 minutes he can just keep doing it. What punishment did Stuart Pearce receive for kicking the ball to the top tier of of the Olympic Stadium from the West Ham bench in their 1-0 victory over Chelsea this past weekend? None. There's no deterrent because there's no real consequences for the bad sportsmanship behind it.
That time-wasting "Have it!" moment from Stuart Pearce v #cfc #motd2 just showed. Told us afterwards he just miscontrolled it 😂 #whufc #coyi
— Paul Brown (@pbsportswriter) December 10, 2017
It seems, like the diving issue, time wasting is another subject that the powers that be don't really want to touch. But, should they? Our biggest complaint on this side of the pond about American Sports is the stop/start nature of it all, but the Premier League is now just as bad. Does professional football have a duty to entertain considering how expensive it is to go to a game or even subscribe to the TV channels that show the games?
Mad that football hasn't adopted real time. Teams literally wasting time for minute 1 regularly. Infuriating.
— David Martinez (@DMARTINEZ_85) December 13, 2017
It's not just the West Broms and Evertons of the league either. This past weekend in the Manchester Derby, Raheem Sterling spent between two and three minutes with the ball at Manchester United's corner flag eventually being hacked down by Ashley Young. Does it make the time wasting any better that the ball is in active play?
So, it begs the question, is time wasting ruining football and something that needs to be eradicated from the game entirely or is it just a necessary part of a defensive approach? Just like taking a striker and bringing on another centre half?
Well maybe Eden Hazard wasn't the "bad guy" after all?
(No, he definitely was.)
