Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.
For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.
CELTIC'S SLUMP
Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see 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 informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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 Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.
