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Merely fifteen minutes after Celtic released the news of Brendan Rodgers' shock departure via a perfunctory short communication, the bombshell arrived, courtesy of the major shareholder, with clear signs in apparent fury.

Through an extensive statement, key investor Dermot Desmond savaged his old chum.

This individual he persuaded to come to the club when their rivals were getting uppity in that period and needed putting in their place. Plus the man he again relied on after Ange Postecoglou left for Tottenham in the recent offseason.

Such was the severity of his critique, the jaw-dropping comeback of Martin O'Neill was almost an after-thought.

Two decades after his departure from the organization, and after much of his recent life was given over to an continuous series of appearances and the performance of all his old hits at Celtic, O'Neill is back in the manager's seat.

For now - and maybe for a time. Based on comments he has expressed lately, he has been keen to secure another job. He will view this one as the perfect chance, a gift from the club's legacy, a return to the place where he enjoyed such success and praise.

Will he relinquish it readily? It seems unlikely. Celtic might well reach out to contact Postecoglou, but O'Neill will act as a balm for the time being.

All-out Effort at Reputation Destruction'

O'Neill's reappearance - as surreal as it may be - can be set aside because the biggest 'wow!' moment was the brutal way Desmond wrote of Rodgers.

This constituted a forceful attempt at character assassination, a labeling of him as deceitful, a perpetrator of falsehoods, a spreader of falsehoods; divisive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "One individual's desire for self-preservation at the expense of everyone else," wrote he.

For somebody who values propriety and places great store in business being done with discretion, if not outright secrecy, this was a further illustration of how unusual things have grown at the club.

The major figure, the organization's dominant figure, operates in the margins. The absentee totem, the individual with the authority to make all the important calls he wants without having the responsibility of explaining them in any open setting.

He does not attend club annual meetings, sending his offspring, Ross, instead. He rarely, if ever, does interviews about the team unless they're hagiographic in tone. And still, he's slow to communicate.

There have been instances on an occasion or two to support the organization with private missives to media organisations, but nothing is made in public.

It's exactly how he's preferred it to be. And it's exactly what he contradicted when launching all-out attack on Rodgers on that day.

The directive from the team is that he stepped down, but reading his criticism, carefully, one must question why he permit it to reach this far down the line?

If the manager is culpable of all of the things that Desmond is alleging he's responsible for, then it is reasonable to ask why had been the coach not dismissed?

Desmond has charged him of spinning things in open forums that did not tally with reality.

He says Rodgers' statements "played a part to a hostile atmosphere around the club and encouraged animosity towards individuals of the executive team and the board. A portion of the criticism aimed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable."

Such an remarkable allegation, indeed. Legal representatives might be mobilising as we speak.

His Aspirations Clashed with Celtic's Model Again

To return to better days, they were close, Dermot and Brendan. Rodgers lauded Desmond at all opportunities, expressed gratitude to him every chance. Rodgers respected Dermot and, really, to no one other.

This was the figure who drew the heat when Rodgers' comeback occurred, post-Postecoglou.

It was the most divisive appointment, the return of the prodigal son for a few or, as some other Celtic fans would have put it, the arrival of the shameless one, who departed in the lurch for another club.

The shareholder had his support. Gradually, Rodgers turned on the charm, achieved the wins and the trophies, and an fragile peace with the fans became a affectionate relationship again.

It was inevitable - consistently - going to be a point when Rodgers' goals came in contact with the club's operational approach, however.

This occurred in his first incarnation and it happened once more, with added intensity, over the last year. Rodgers spoke openly about the sluggish way Celtic conducted their player acquisitions, the endless waiting for prospects to be landed, then missed, as was frequently the case as far as he was concerned.

Time and again he stated about the need for what he termed "flexibility" in the market. Supporters concurred with him.

Despite the club splurged record amounts of funds in a twelve-month period on the £11m one signing, the costly Adam Idah and the significant Auston Trusty - all of whom have performed well so far, with Idah already having left - Rodgers pushed for increased resources and, oftentimes, he did it in public.

He planted a controversy about a internal disunity within the club and then distanced himself. When asked about his comments at his next news conference he would usually minimize it and nearly reverse what he stated.

Internal issues? No, no, everybody is aligned, he'd claim. It looked like Rodgers was engaging in a risky strategy.

Earlier this year there was a report in a publication that purportedly originated from a source close to the club. It said that Rodgers was harming the team with his public outbursts and that his real motivation was orchestrating his departure plan.

He didn't want to be present and he was arranging his way out, this was the implication of the story.

Supporters were enraged. They now viewed him as similar to a martyr who might be removed on his shield because his board members did not back his plans to achieve success.

The leak was poisonous, of course, and it was meant to harm Rodgers, which it accomplished. He called for an inquiry and for the responsible individual to be dismissed. Whether there was a examination then we learned no more about it.

By then it was plain Rodgers was losing the support of the people above him.

The frequent {gripes