JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.
For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."
NEW CHALLENGER
Considering the horrific start to the campaign 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 entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.
COACH'S REACTION
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.
