The Reasons Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.
For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.
CELTIC'S SLUMP
Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, 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 below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.
"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.
MANAGER'S REACTION
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.
