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Just a quarter of an hour following Celtic released the announcement of Brendan Rodgers' surprising resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph statement, the bombshell arrived, from the major shareholder, with clear signs in obvious anger.

In an extensive statement, key investor Dermot Desmond eviscerated his former ally.

The man he convinced to come to the club when their rivals were gaining ground in that period and needed putting back in a box. Plus the figure he again turned to after Ange Postecoglou departed to Tottenham in the recent offseason.

Such was the ferocity of his critique, the astonishing comeback of Martin O'Neill was almost an secondary note.

Two decades after his exit from the organization, and after much of his latter years was given over to an unending circuit of appearances and the playing of all his past successes at Celtic, O'Neill is back in the manager's seat.

Currently - and perhaps for a while. Considering comments he has said lately, O'Neill has been keen to secure a new position. He'll view this role as the ultimate opportunity, a gift from the Celtic Gods, a return to the place where he enjoyed such glory and praise.

Will he give it up readily? It seems unlikely. Celtic could possibly reach out to sound out Postecoglou, but the new appointment will serve as a soothing presence for the time being.

All-out Attempt at Reputation Destruction'

O'Neill's reappearance - as surreal as it is - can be parked because the most significant shocking moment was the harsh manner the shareholder wrote of Rodgers.

It was a full-blooded endeavor at character assassination, a labeling of Rodgers as deceitful, a source of falsehoods, a spreader of falsehoods; disruptive, misleading and unjustifiable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the expense of everyone else," stated Desmond.

For a person who prizes decorum and sets high importance in business being conducted with discretion, if not complete privacy, here was a further illustration of how unusual situations have grown at Celtic.

The major figure, the club's most powerful presence, moves in the background. The remote leader, the individual with the power to make all the important decisions he wants without having the responsibility of explaining them in any public forum.

He never participate in team annual meetings, dispatching his son, his son, instead. He rarely, if ever, does interviews about Celtic unless they're glowing in tone. And even then, he's slow to speak out.

He has been known on an occasion or two to defend the organization with private missives to media organisations, but nothing is heard in the open.

This is precisely how he's preferred it to be. And that's just what he went against when launching all-out attack on the manager on Monday.

The directive from the club is that Rodgers resigned, but reading Desmond's criticism, carefully, one must question why did he allow it to reach such a critical point?

If the manager is culpable of every one of the accusations that Desmond is alleging he's responsible for, then it's fair to inquire why had been the coach not removed?

He has accused him of spinning information in public that did not tally with reality.

He claims Rodgers' words "played a part to a toxic environment around the club and fuelled animosity towards members of the executive team and the board. A portion of the abuse aimed at them, and at their loved ones, has been entirely unjustified and improper."

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

His Ambition Conflicted with Celtic's Strategy Again

Looking back to happier times, they were tight, the two men. The manager praised the shareholder at all opportunities, thanked him whenever possible. Brendan deferred to Dermot and, truly, to no one other.

This was Desmond who drew the criticism when Rodgers' returned happened, after the previous manager.

It was the most divisive hiring, the return of the returning hero for a few or, as some other Celtic fans would have described it, the return of the unapologetic figure, who departed in the difficulty for Leicester.

The shareholder had Rodgers' support. Gradually, the manager employed the charm, achieved the victories and the trophies, and an fragile peace with the fans turned into a love-in once more.

There was always - always - going to be a point when his goals came in contact with the club's operational approach, however.

This occurred in his initial tenure and it transpired once more, with bells on, recently. He spoke openly about the sluggish way the team went about their transfer business, the endless delay for prospects to be landed, then not landed, as was too often the case as far as he was believed.

Repeatedly he stated about the necessity for what he called "flexibility" in the market. Supporters agreed with him.

Despite the club splurged record amounts of funds in a twelve-month period on the £11m one signing, the £9m another player and the significant further acquisition - none of whom have performed well to date, with Idah already having departed - the manager demanded increased resources and, oftentimes, he expressed this in openly.

He set a bomb about a internal disunity within the club and then distanced himself. When asked about his comments at his subsequent media briefing he would usually minimize it and almost reverse what he stated.

Lack of cohesion? No, no, all are united, he'd say. It appeared like Rodgers was engaging in a dangerous game.

A few months back there was a story in a publication that purportedly came from a insider close to the organization. It said that Rodgers was damaging the team with his open criticisms and that his true aim was managing his departure plan.

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

Supporters were angered. They now saw him as akin to a martyr who might be carried out on his honor because his directors did not support his vision to bring success.

This disclosure was damaging, naturally, and it was intended to hurt him, which it accomplished. He called for an investigation and for the guilty person to be dismissed. Whether there was a probe then we learned nothing further about it.

At that point it was plain Rodgers was shedding the backing of the people above him.

The regular {gripes