Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.
For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.
While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."
Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.
"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.
Milan is een ervaren opticien met een passie voor visuele technologie en klantgerichtheid.
