Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph 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 standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.
Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.
Although 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 their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.
"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted 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."
Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.
"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager 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 could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, 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 wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.
A tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience covering AI advancements and cybersecurity trends across Europe.
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