Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.
Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP
While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn 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 title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.
In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.
COACH'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.