In a very quick search I found OPTA stats from 2017/18 and 2018/19 indicating the average time the ball is in play in PL games. Both seasons the times were pretty similar - 61 minutes 26 seconds and 59 minutes 23 seconds - probably meaning that every season is much the same. This tells it's own story as to having a stopping clock.
I think personally we should leave well enough alone, just introduce a rule that says if a guy rolls about you can kick him in the balls A free shot rule if you will. It's a contact sport and people who roll about deserve a sack whack
I'm assuming that includes dead time for throw-ins, goal-kicks and all the faffing about that goes on in lining up walls and such for free-kicks. There'd be no need to stop the clock for them, as long as no-one's taking the piss.
I was surprised that the ball was out of play for a third of a game. I presume the timings include stopping the clock for free kicks, fouls, goal kicks, throw ins and injuries ie. all the times the ball is deemed not to be in play. If a stopping clock was to be used then I guess they would use it as strictly as these OPTA exercises. It's never going to happen is it.
Goal kicks should have clock stopped. I would say Tim Krul used to top the possessions stats for newcastle as he had to take at least 30minutes per game just on goal.kicks or long punts.
Not really, the refs could just enforce the rules properly. A card for a persistent offender would be more of a deterrent than a few seconds added on at the end of the game.
If you break a game up into 30 second blocks then you've 180 of them. A throw in is easily 30 seconds. Easily. A lot of full backs act the cock and make a feast out of them. The crabbing up the line and that. There has the be 30 a game surely. I've never counted. A corner is a big event when slow cb lumber up so it's another minute for one ball. Any free kick is another minute or two just to arse about with a wall or an offside line etc. Goal kicks are a pure time waste by some. If a keeper catches a ball they seem to be allowed to fall on it. Hold it till all 22 players go away and then get up. This again is a feast or a famine. A lot of these things are not even counted in the 30mins the ball is out of play
This recent discovery is making me a bit sceptical as to how tired players look when they are only playing two thirds of a game every game
They rarely enforce the rules and never do when the games equal or they're losing; yeah they're wasting their own time but that's applying common sense to refereeing, pretty sure they've tried to eliminate that!