The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.
Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division 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 matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged 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 bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views 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 strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.
