Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.
For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged 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 Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.
MANAGER'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.
