By all accounts, ATK are one of the heaviest spenders in this Indian Super League season. On Wednesday, barely a day prior to their clash against second-place Chennaiyin FC, they paid an even heavier price for their sluggish start to the season.

Head coach Teddy Sheringham was sacked after a start that included three wins in his first 10 matches as they struggled for any rhythm going forward. Looking back at it, Teddy’s appointment was bizarre; Sheringham had a single stint with fourth-tier Stevenage Town on his resume prior to ATK taking a punt on him.

The former Manchester United striker’s record there: a paltry seven wins in 33 games. Some in enlightened footballing circles had speculated that Shringham was a decoy, an appointment in proxy; that Technical Director of football Ashley Westwood was always going to be the man at the helm.

But then, the question begs itself, why would you sack an ornamental appointment?

That's is what ISL will face ,this overmarketing simulation makes it necessary to keep doing it every year by making signings like Berbatov or crap marquee managers



When things fall normal ,the oversimulated fan will lose Interest and attendance drops — Sushrut Sharma (@sushrut_20) December 9, 2017

Three coaches sacked so far

The ISL’s short-termism has come home to roost in its fourth season; Sheringham was the third head coach to be sacked in this edition after only one, Peter Taylor, was let go mid-way in it’s first three.

The teams placed seventh, eighth and ninth have all changed gaffers with only last-placed Delhi Dynamos resisting the urge to do so. Fittingly enough, it is the Dynamos who have showed a better brand of football than the three teams above them, despite the standings telling us otherwise.

Joao de Deus Piraes’ NorthEast United never scored enough goals under the Portuguese and the 41-year-old paid the price for it, as he made way for Avram Grant.

The Kerala Blasters’ season is unravelling thick and fast as the two-time finalists are the only team that could possibly match ATK for in-team chaos. A cocktail of results, player revolts and fall-out with the management proved fatal for Rene Meulensteen as the former Manchester United youth coach became the second man to be ousted this season.

For example BFC had to give away half of their team to draft to enter ISL. What kind of a league does this? Is this encouraging merit? — 🌬️Aaron🌫️ (@ROALY) January 20, 2018

Draft system doesn’t help

The draft, so visibly resisted by many an Indian player and coach, was most definitely to blame for the unrest as any other factor.

Hitting the reset button on the three-season league to accommodate new entrants Jamshedpur FC was a questionable one as opposed to allowing the new entrants to recruit from an open market system.

Bengaluru FC, who switched from I-League to ISL this season, and Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri had led the opposition to the introduction of the Draft, understandably so, given that a settled Blues squad was re-built only days prior to a crucial match in their ongoing AFC Cup campaign.

Chopping and changing teams every campaign instead of signings players and staff to long-term deals, is detrimental, if not crippling to any long-term prospects of instilling a particular brand of football.

Asking head coaches to work with a newly assembled squad and reel off results within the space of nine or ten matches is baffling, to state the very least. Enthusiasts may point to FC Goa and Pune City, but those franchises are the exceptions, rather than the rule.

OMG FC Pune City is the hoodoo club of ISL😱



After Pune 3-2 KBFC, Peter Taylor sacked (2015)

Before KBFC 1-1 Pune, Rene Meulensteen sacked

After Pune 5-0 NEU, João Carlos Pires de Deus sacked

After Pune 3-0 ATK, Teddy Sheringham sacked — Arun George (@saysarun) January 24, 2018

Figurehead appointments

Sheringham’s appointment did break the mould for a club previously handled by experienced heads such as Jose Molina and Antonio Habas. A look at the top-flight managerial careers of the Englishman and Meulensteen reveal a less-than-suitable record, one that cannot necessarily be offset by the heavy icon tag that these men seem to carry around.

Marco Materazzi did do well despite no previous top-flight experience but the presence of a big name in the dressing room is not always likely to produce the desired effect that their appointments are meant to galvanise.

Personality clashes with those with stellar playing careers but little to no experience in man management are always inevitable. Reports suggest that Sheringham’s appointment cost ATK more than $500,000 (Rs 3.17 crores), making him a very expensive casualty of a flawed system.

Pre-seasons are meant to iron out these and any tactical chinks that may arise but over the long run, teams playing without an identity and living on a prayer are likely to struggle. In ATK’s case, they failed to impose themselves at either end of the pitch with Prabir Das and Zequinha possibly the only players to make a positive mark on the team.

Figureheads are okay and maybe inspirational in some cases, but asking a coach to inspire his team to victory rather than instil tactics would fall more in the bucket of ‘marketing gimmick’, less in the ‘football sense’ one.