Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.
Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.
MANAGER'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.
