Why Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.
Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change 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 appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.
