Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.
For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.
COACH'S RESPONSE
"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.