The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.
Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR
Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.
MANAGER'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.
