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Just fifteen minutes after Celtic issued the announcement of their manager's shock departure via a brief five-paragraph communication, the howitzer landed, courtesy of the major shareholder, with whiskers twitching in obvious fury.

Through 551-words, key investor Dermot Desmond eviscerated his former ally.

This individual he convinced to join the team when their rivals were gaining ground in 2016 and needed putting in their place. And the figure he again relied on after the previous manager left for another club in the summer of 2023.

Such was the severity of his critique, the astonishing comeback of the former boss was practically an after-thought.

Two decades after his exit from the organization, and after much of his recent life was dedicated to an continuous circuit of public speaking engagements and the playing of all his old hits at Celtic, Martin O'Neill is back in the manager's seat.

For now - and perhaps for a time. Considering comments he has said lately, he has been keen to get another job. He'll view this role as the perfect opportunity, a present from the club's legacy, a return to the environment where he enjoyed such success and praise.

Will he relinquish it easily? It seems unlikely. Celtic could possibly make a call to sound out Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a soothing presence for the time being.

'Full-blooded Attempt at Reputation Destruction'

O'Neill's return - however strange as it may be - can be set aside because the biggest 'wow!' moment was the harsh way Desmond described Rodgers.

This constituted a full-blooded endeavor at character assassination, a labeling of Rodgers as untrustful, a perpetrator of falsehoods, a disseminator of misinformation; disruptive, misleading and unacceptable. "One individual's wish for self-interest at the expense of everyone else," wrote Desmond.

For somebody who values decorum and places great store in business being conducted with confidentiality, if not outright secrecy, this was a further example of how abnormal situations have grown at the club.

Desmond, the organization's dominant presence, moves in the background. The remote leader, the individual with the authority to make all the major calls he pleases without having the responsibility of explaining them in any public forum.

He never attend club annual meetings, dispatching his son, his son, in his place. He rarely, if ever, gives media talks about Celtic unless they're glowing in nature. And still, he's reluctant to communicate.

There have been instances on an occasion or two to support the organization with confidential missives to media organisations, but no statement is made in the open.

It's exactly how he's wanted it to remain. And it's exactly what he went against when launching full thermonuclear on the manager on Monday.

The directive from the team is that Rodgers resigned, but reviewing Desmond's invective, carefully, you have to wonder why did he permit it to reach such a critical point?

If Rodgers is guilty of every one of the things that Desmond is alleging he's responsible for, then it is reasonable to inquire why had been the manager not dismissed?

He has accused him of distorting information in open forums that were inconsistent with reality.

He says his statements "played a part to a hostile atmosphere around the club and encouraged hostility towards members of the management and the board. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable."

What an extraordinary allegation, indeed. Legal representatives might be mobilising as we discuss.

'Rodgers' Ambition Clashed with the Club's Model Once More'

To return to better times, they were tight, the two men. Rodgers lauded Desmond at every turn, thanked him every chance. Brendan respected Dermot and, really, to no one other.

This was Desmond who took the criticism when Rodgers' comeback occurred, post-Postecoglou.

This marked the most divisive appointment, the reappearance of the prodigal son for a few or, as some other Celtic fans would have put it, the return of the shameless one, who left them in the difficulty for another club.

Desmond had his back. Gradually, the manager employed the charm, delivered the victories and the trophies, and an uneasy peace with the supporters became a affectionate relationship again.

It was inevitable - always - going to be a point when Rodgers' ambition clashed with the club's operational approach, however.

This occurred in his first incarnation and it transpired again, with added intensity, recently. Rodgers publicly commented about the sluggish way the team conducted their player acquisitions, the endless waiting for prospects to be secured, then not landed, as was too often the case as far as he was believed.

Time and again he spoke about the need for what he termed "agility" in the transfer window. The fans concurred with him.

Even when the organization spent record amounts of funds in a twelve-month period on the £11m one signing, the £9m Adam Idah and the £6m Auston Trusty - none of whom have performed well to date, with one since having left - Rodgers demanded more and more and, oftentimes, he expressed this in openly.

He set a bomb about a internal disunity within the team and then distanced himself. Upon questioning about his remarks at his subsequent media briefing he would typically downplay it and nearly reverse what he said.

Internal issues? Not at all, everybody is aligned, he'd claim. It appeared like Rodgers was engaging in a dangerous game.

A few months back there was a story in a newspaper that purportedly originated from a source close to the club. It said that Rodgers was harming Celtic with his public outbursts and that his true aim was managing his exit strategy.

He didn't want to be present and he was arranging his exit, that was the tone of the story.

The fans were angered. They now viewed him as akin to a sacrificial figure who might be carried out on his shield because his directors wouldn't support his vision to achieve triumph.

The leak was poisonous, of course, and it was meant to hurt Rodgers, which it accomplished. He demanded for an investigation and for the responsible individual to be removed. If there was a examination then we heard nothing further about it.

By then it was plain Rodgers was shedding the support of the individuals above him.

The regular {gripes