The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.
For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
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 their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced 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 expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.