Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.
Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed 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 individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally 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 fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.
COACH'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. 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 Celtic or Rangers can claim.