I watched Brighton vs Bournemouth and saw little football and lots of time-wasting - here's what needs to change

Sky Sports rarely under-sell a football match and Brighton vs Bournemouth LIVE on Monday night under the lights was going to be a cracker... so whatever you do, don't miss it!

On the face of it, it should have been a good game. Two intense teams that like to press high and play quick football. Both managed by two impressive young coaches in Fabian Hurzeler and Andoni Iraola.

In brief patches, there were some good moments last night and really the match should be remembered for Brighton's sublime late equaliser as 18-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas sent an overhead kick beyond visiting keeper Djordje Petrovic. It was a nice goal and most likely the first of many at the Amex for the £30m summer arrival.

However, what lingers in the mind was the time-wasting. A depleted Bournemouth tired badly and used every trick to disrupt the rhythm of the game.

Iraola's team are by no means the only ones to do it but last night did seem excessive and currently the rules allow teams to do so. That's something that could and should easily change.

I reported on a game last season as Brighton played Newcastle at the Amex Stadium. To be honest I can't even remember the score off the top of my head (I’m pretty sure it was 1-1) because what sticks in the mind was VAR, constant stoppages and watching Craig Pawson watch a screen. That can’t be good for anybody!

It happened again last night against Bournemouth. Another pointless VAR check as they desperately search for the merest touch. Bart Verbruggen was the victim this time as he "made contact" with Amine Adli, who had poked the ball out of play.

After review, the referee returned to the pitch, chest out and proud as punch announced to the stadium that they have indeed spotted something, anything. Urgh!

But don't worry the action on the pitch was soon underway again. Oh, wait sorry, what, that could be a head injury, someone’s on the floor. Stop the match. Ok, it looks as though he will live after all.

Restart the match and it's a throw. Hold up, the right back needs to take that throw from the left wing. Just give him a few minutes while he trots across the pitch. Ok, he's in position and ready. Not quite, he needs a towel. Of course he does, those balls are just so slippery. It's all quite maddening for those in attendance.

If the game flows you get see the best players in the world perform at their best. That's what you want to see, that's the reason you go. It's also the reason these players come from all corners of the globe and are paid so many millions to play in the “best league in the world.”

It's a problem for the Premier League and a direction of travel they need to reverse as the current rules are reducing the quality of their product. It's needs to be faster as that’s football's super-power against many other sports and why people turn up and tune in.

It’s clear people consume football in different ways these day. A highlights package on social media, the BBC website or wherever can be edited and the long delays, the timewasting and VAR checks are chopped out. It's not so much of an issue then but it is if you are in the stadium. So too if you are playing, coaching or even officiating.

Premier League football remains a great product but the point is, rules need to be tweaked... Nothing drastic, just faster, fewer delays and more time with the ball in play. Let people watch football in the best way that it can be.

Hurzeler: We have to put football in focus

Here's what Hurzeler had to say after the Bournemouth match, and I can kind of agree with him on this.

“All the things about time wasting, we see it now,” said the German to Sussex World.

“A throw-in. The right fullback runs to the left side to make a long throw-in.

“The goalkeeper, of course, knows the eight-second rule when he has the ball in hand.

“I really like it because it makes the game much faster. But when there's a normal goal kick, he can still take one minute.

“Then there's a throw-in, he can still take one minute, I think we have to limit time.

“Also when we use the VAR, limit time. Because when a referee goes to the VAR and looks, I think it took like three, four minutes to then make a decision.

“Then it can't be so wrong the decision It doesn't make sense.

“We have to put more football in the focus. That's why we are here.

“That's why the players play this game and not about time-wasting.

“I don't know how many times the players were laying on the ground today. That's just breaking the rhythm of the game. The eight-second rule is a good start, but we have to do much more.

“We have to limit this kind of time-wasting because the fans and supporters, they're all here to see a football game.

“They're not seeing here that players lay on the ground, that the right fullback runs to left side, makes a long throw-in or that the goalkeepers waste like one minute for each goal kick.

“That's not the thing for what supporters pay for. And that's why I think this definitely has to change, that we get more like the football in focus.”

Your next Albion read: 'A lot' - Charalampos Kostoulas makes surprise admission after magic against Bournemouth