Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.
Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse 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 experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.
COACH'S REACTION
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted 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 long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.