ISL 2015 Marquee Player Review -- Part One: Out of form, Out of the playoffs!

IS THERE A CORRELATION between an ISL franchise's performance and the effectiveness of their marquee player? Without going into too much detail -- Yes. One can say this in a broad sense since the marquee player is the highest paid footballer in the team and usually carries a glittering resume that sets him apart from most other players in the team. In the case of ISL, these marquee players are also often personalities the younger players in the team grew up watching and idolizing. So how they carry themselves and perform is very likely to have an impact on other players and by extension the entire team.

That's what Peter Taylor was talking about in a recent interview; about teams spending so much money on a marquee player but getting almost nothing in return. Kerala was one of the most marquee-deprived teams this season, and they finished at the bottom. But on the other hand, Atletico de Kolkata have played without their marquee singing second match onwards and they did well to enter the semi-finals. 

Overall, the marquee players were considerably less visible this year than last year. And none of them have been the most successful player for their franchise, which was the case last year as well. 

So in this marquee review for ISL 2015, part 1 of 2, we take a look at how the marquee players of the teams who did not make it into the semi-finals, and their impact on their franchises' fortunes (beyond the hefty fees spent on them).