The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.
Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.
THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE
While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In an Irish defender, 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 Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.
COACH'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.
