The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.
For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded 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 outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.
