Why Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.
Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.
COACH'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.