The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.
HEARTS ON FIRE
Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.
For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
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 complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.
"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."
NEW CHALLENGER
Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced 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 fray. 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, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds 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 Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, 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 Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.
MANAGER'S RESPONSE
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.
