The Reasons Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.
Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.
"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided 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 unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.
MANAGER'S REACTION
"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.
