Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear wants Premier League to condemn ‘systematic game management’
Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear has called on the Premier League to condemn the “systematic game management” that has engulfed the season so far.
The average time the ball has been in play this campaign has fallen to a 10-year low of 55 minutes, a worrying statistic to take in.
Whites chief Kinnear admitted that the time-wasting tactics from teams in the league have been “hugely frustrating” and he hopes the Premier League can find a way to put it to an end.
Speaking in Leeds United’s matchday programme for Sunday’s clash with Aston Villa, Kinnear revealed recent discussions with the Professional Game Match Officials which he’s hoping will lead to some resolutions.
“The focus [against Aston Villa] will be on bouncing back from an error-strewn performance at Brentford that ultimately meant, while the vagaries of VAR were hugely frustrating, those vagaries were not decisive,” said Kinnear.
“Attempting to influence the process or quality of decision making in the heat of the match is virtually futile, but there has been much more progressive subsequent dialogue with the PGMOL and the Premier League subsequently, with all clubs hoping that such a calamitous weekend of VAR decisions will act as a catalyst for a meaningful improvement.
“Similarly, the fact that ‘ball in play time’ has reached a decade-low average of 55 minutes (with a remarkable spread of over 20 minutes between the highest and the lowest fixtures) will hopefully create an impetus to address the systematic ‘game management’ that appears to be both increasingly pervasive and troublingly tolerated while antithetical to everything that has made Premier League football loved across the globe.”
Moving forward.
Time-wasting tactics work in the current football landscape and teams can get away with doing it far too easily, as seen on many occasions this season.
There is, however, a potential fix to the problem and one that should be considered by the Premier League hierarchy, it could be revolutionary in football, but whether it’s a good option is up for debate.
It’s pretty straightforward, stop the clock, it’s done to a fairly decent standard in the NBA with basketball and rugby but it would have to be refined for the beautiful game.
The main argument against this is that it would take away from the aspects of the game we love, the last-minute equalisers and the drama of not fully knowing when the ref will blow his whistle.
Too many memorable moments have occurred in stoppage time of games, so to take it away completely would be a crime but some rules to help the referees with time-wasting wouldn’t go amiss.
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