Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.
Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.
COACH'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.