Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.
Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.
"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.
COACH'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.
