Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.
JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.
Over the past 40 seasons, 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 process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and ClĂ¡udio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"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 outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.
