JAMBOS BLAZING
Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.
For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.
CELTIC'S DECLINE
Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.
"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
NEW CHALLENGER
Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.
In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.
COACH'S REACTION
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.
