Why Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.
Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, 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 championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.
