Why Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.
Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m 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, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems 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. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.
MANAGER'S REACTION
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. 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. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.