How Newcastle United’s use of ‘the dark arts’ and ‘timewasting’ compares to Everton, Arsenal & rivals

“I don’t even know what dark arts are! If someone could explain it to me that would be great. I’ve said many times we just try to win but within the laws of the game.”

A suggestion Newcastle United were bending the laws of the game to their advantage brought a terse reaction from Eddie Howe. Just days earlier, following his side’s home defeat against Howe’s men, Brentford manager Thomas Frank had hit out at the Magpies tactics in their win over the Bees.

Frank joined a growing list of opposing managers to suggest Newcastle’s use of ‘the dark arts’ is helping them challenge for the Champions League this season as they gain every little advantage in their search of three points. But how do Newcastle compare to their Premier League rivals when it comes to the average time it takes them to restart the game when the ball has gone out of play?

Using data frm OPTA, Newcastle World looked at the teams guilty of the most ‘time-wasting’ in the league this term...