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Merely a quarter of an hour following Celtic released the news of Brendan Rodgers' shock departure via a brief short communication, the bombshell arrived, from the major shareholder, with whiskers twitching in apparent fury.

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

The man he convinced to join the club when their rivals were gaining ground in that period and needed putting back in a box. And the figure he once more turned to after Ange Postecoglou left for another club in the summer of 2023.

So intense was the severity of Desmond's takedown, the astonishing comeback of Martin O'Neill was practically an after-thought.

Twenty years after his departure from the club, and after a large part of his latter years was dedicated to an unending circuit of public speaking engagements and the performance of all his past successes at Celtic, Martin O'Neill is back in the manager's seat.

Currently - and perhaps for a time. Considering comments he has said recently, he has been keen to secure a new position. He will view this role as the perfect chance, a gift from the Celtic Gods, a return to the place where he experienced such glory and praise.

Will he give it up readily? It seems unlikely. Celtic could possibly make a call to sound out Postecoglou, but the new appointment will serve as a balm for the moment.

All-out Attempt at Reputation Destruction'

O'Neill's return - however strange as it is - can be set aside because the biggest 'wow!' development was the harsh manner Desmond described the former manager.

This constituted a forceful attempt at character assassination, a branding of Rodgers as untrustful, a source of untruths, a spreader of falsehoods; divisive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the expense of everyone else," wrote Desmond.

For a person who values propriety and places great store in dealings being done with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, here was another illustration of how abnormal situations have become at Celtic.

Desmond, the club's most powerful presence, moves in the background. The absentee totem, the individual with the authority to make all the important decisions he wants without having the obligation of justifying them in any public forum.

He does not attend club annual meetings, dispatching his offspring, his son, instead. He seldom, if ever, does interviews about Celtic unless they're glowing in tone. And still, he's reluctant to communicate.

There have been instances on an rare moment to defend the organization with confidential missives to news outlets, but no statement is made in the open.

This is precisely how he's wanted it to remain. And it's just what he went against when launching full thermonuclear on the manager on Monday.

The official line from the club is that Rodgers resigned, but reviewing his invective, carefully, you have to wonder why did he allow it to reach such a critical point?

If Rodgers is guilty of every one of the accusations that Desmond is claiming he's guilty of, then it is reasonable to inquire why had been the coach not removed?

Desmond has charged him of spinning information in open forums that did not tally with the facts.

He claims his words "have contributed to a hostile atmosphere around the club and encouraged hostility towards individuals of the executive team and the board. A portion of the abuse aimed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable."

Such an extraordinary charge, indeed. Legal representatives might be preparing as we speak.

His Aspirations Conflicted with Celtic's Model Again

To return to happier days, they were close, the two men. Rodgers praised the shareholder at every turn, expressed gratitude to him every chance. Rodgers respected him and, truly, to no one other.

It was the figure who took the heat when Rodgers' returned happened, after the previous manager.

This marked the most divisive hiring, the return of the returning hero for a few or, as other Celtic fans would have described it, the arrival of the unapologetic figure, who left them in the lurch for Leicester.

The shareholder had his back. Over time, the manager turned on the persuasion, achieved the wins and the trophies, and an uneasy truce with the supporters became a love-in once more.

It was inevitable - always - going to be a point when his goals clashed with the club's business model, however.

This occurred in his initial tenure and it transpired once more, with bells on, over the last year. He publicly commented about the slow way Celtic went about their transfer business, the endless delay for targets to be secured, then not landed, as was frequently the situation as far as he was believed.

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

Despite the organization splurged record amounts of money in a twelve-month period on the expensive one signing, the costly Adam Idah and the significant further acquisition - none of whom have cut it so far, with Idah already having departed - Rodgers pushed for increased resources and, often, he expressed this in openly.

He planted a controversy about a internal disunity inside the team and then distanced himself. When asked about his remarks at his next media briefing he would typically minimize it and nearly contradict what he said.

Internal issues? Not at all, all are united, he'd say. It looked like Rodgers was playing a dangerous game.

A few months back there was a story in a newspaper that allegedly came from a source close to the club. It said that the manager was damaging Celtic with his open criticisms and that his real motivation was managing his exit strategy.

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

Supporters were angered. They then viewed him as similar to a martyr who might be carried out on his honor because his board members did not back his vision to bring triumph.

The leak was poisonous, of course, and it was meant to hurt Rodgers, which it did. He called for an inquiry and for the guilty person to be dismissed. If there was a probe then we heard nothing further about it.

At that point it was clear Rodgers was losing the support of the individuals in charge.

The regular {gripes