The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.
For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.
COACH'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.