Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.
Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
NEW CHALLENGER
Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.
COACH'S RESPONSE
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.
