54

Well I now have an erection.

A lot of people mock and deride the Conference League, but the fact that it enabled the below is fucking class to be honest.

Yeah, I may need to pick that up.

How Long Is a Football Match? If it sounds like a trick question, that’s because it is. You want to say 90 minutes, but technically you’d be wrong. We caused something of a stir this season when looking into time wasting in the Premier League. It was topical at the time because of how much criticism Newcastle United were getting for disrupting the flow of games. Multiple opposing managers jumped to similar conclusions. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta accused Newcastle of wasting time in January; three months later Ten Hag called Eddie Howe’s team “annoying” with respect to apparent attempts to wind down the clock. They weren’t the only two, either. We found that of all 20 Premier League teams in 2022-23, Newcastle’s games had the smallest percentage of total match minutes with the ball in play, and that remained the case at the end of the season (51.8%). But how do Newcastle and the Premier League in general compare to the rest of the big five leagues? Well, the average total playing time of a Premier League match in 2022-23 was 98 minutes and 27 seconds, which was the longest of the top five leagues. But the ball was in play for only 54:52, shorter than both Ligue 1 (55:56) and – marginally – Serie A (54:54). When converted into percentages, only La Liga (54.6%) had the ball in play for a smaller proportion of time than the Premier League (55.7%). Ligue 1 was comfortably in front with 58.1%. As for Newcastle, only two clubs had poorer records in terms of percent of total match minutes with the ball in play. Cádiz were level with them on 51.8%, while Schalke (51.7%) and Valencia (51.6%) slotted in at the very bottom among all clubs in the top five leagues. You can’t put it all down to time wasting, but Newcastle’s average of 29.6 seconds per delay – which is the time between the ball going out of play and play being resumed – was the third highest in Europe this season behind Brentford (31.3s) and Everton (29.6s). However, it’s a problem that goes beyond Newcastle; or Brentford and Everton; or Cádiz and Valencia. No major league in Europe has the ball in play for even 60% of the time and the figures are decreasing – for example, the Premier League’s best season on record in this regard was the 2013-14 campaign (56:43). So, fans are seeing less action for something that continues to cost more to enjoy every season. Don’t be surprised if this eventually leads to the regulation match time of 90 minutes being reduced. https://theanalyst.com/eu/2023/06/top-five-league-stats-goals-cards-time-wasting/#:~:text=Well%2C the average total playing,A (54%3A54).

Would it be a risk to stick with the same team for two weeks in a row? Fixtures for my players are favourable, and I can't think of anyone I particularly want to bring in. So tempted to save the free transfer.

He's such a good man manager: Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on starting Alexander Isak over Callum Wilson against Aston Villa: "It was very difficult. One of those calls that I didn't look forward to making out of my love for Callum. My relationship with him is very strong and he's been outstanding for me as a manager. "To make those calls and disappoint someone you love is very difficult. I had to make a call, and Alex performed really well and so did Callum; they both scored. Getting off the mark is important."

You mean the guy that said that Harvey Barnes was still a Leicester player and that a deal wasn't close, all the while he'd been flown out to the US, and was in the room behind him meeting his new team mates? That guy? Seems trustworthy enough

Being done with our transfer window two weeks before is shuts, and not being angry because we're penny pinching

Theo Walcott has been retired.

I'm still expecting us to lose, and concede 3+ in the process. Man City away is probably the toughest assignment in the world at the moment, so getting anything from this game is a bonus. I'm just happy that I know we'll as minimum go there to win and stamp our authority onto the game, and that is a marked difference to the last 15 years.

Where linked over the summer, glad he's not going to another Prem club.

Christ

It looks really nice, but the original Estadio Benito Villamarín is gloriously Spanish, old but charming, picturesque and characterful. You'll be losing a hell of a lot by changing to a vacuum pack stadium like that.

Who do we think it is then? Murphy? Wilson? Maybe Burn?

Targett will forever more be known as "tigs".

How random

With the issues we had last week, as well the delay at the Arsenal game? Is it just coincidence that all these clubs have decided to go digital, or is it some Premier League wide plan, and every club are doing it?

Love that he's saying this while his colleague sat opposite has written and published a story that a bid has been accepted.