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Just fifteen minutes after the club issued the news of Brendan Rodgers' surprising resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph statement, the bombshell arrived, courtesy of the major shareholder, with whiskers twitching in obvious fury.

In an extensive statement, major shareholder Desmond eviscerated his old chum.

This individual he persuaded to come to the team when their rivals were getting uppity in 2016 and required being in their place. Plus the figure he again turned to after the previous manager left for another club in the recent offseason.

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

Two decades after his departure from the organization, and after much of his latter years was dedicated to an continuous series of public speaking engagements and the performance of all his past successes at Celtic, Martin O'Neill is back in the manager's seat.

For now - and maybe for a time. Considering things he has expressed recently, O'Neill has been keen to secure another job. He will see this one as the perfect opportunity, a gift from the club's legacy, a return to the place where he enjoyed such glory and praise.

Will he relinquish it readily? You wouldn't have thought so. Celtic might well make a call to contact Postecoglou, but O'Neill will act as a balm 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 'wow!' development was the harsh way the shareholder described Rodgers.

This constituted a forceful endeavor at character assassination, a labeling of Rodgers as deceitful, a source of falsehoods, a spreader of falsehoods; divisive, deceptive and unacceptable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the expense of others," wrote Desmond.

For a person who prizes propriety and sets high importance in dealings being done with confidentiality, if not outright secrecy, here was a further example of how unusual situations have grown at the club.

The major figure, the club's most powerful figure, moves in the background. The remote leader, the individual with the authority to take all the important decisions he wants without having the obligation of justifying them in any public forum.

He does not participate in club annual meetings, sending his offspring, his son, instead. He rarely, if ever, does media talks about the team unless they're glowing in tone. And even then, he's reluctant to communicate.

There have been instances on an occasion or two to defend the organization with confidential messages to news outlets, but nothing is made in public.

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

The official line from the club is that he stepped down, but reviewing Desmond's invective, carefully, you have to wonder why he allow it to reach such a critical point?

If Rodgers is guilty of all of the accusations that Desmond is claiming he's guilty of, then it is reasonable to ask why was the coach not removed?

He has charged him of distorting information in open forums that were inconsistent with the facts.

He says Rodgers' words "have contributed to a hostile atmosphere around the club and encouraged animosity towards individuals of the management and the board. Some of the abuse aimed at them, and at their families, has been completely unwarranted and unacceptable."

Such an extraordinary allegation, that is. Legal representatives might be preparing as we discuss.

His Aspirations Conflicted with Celtic's Model Again

To return to better times, they were close, the two men. The manager praised Desmond at all opportunities, expressed gratitude to him every chance. Rodgers respected Dermot and, truly, to no one other.

It was Desmond who drew the criticism when Rodgers' comeback occurred, after the previous manager.

This marked the most divisive appointment, the reappearance of the returning hero for a few or, as some other supporters would have described it, the arrival of the shameless one, who left them in the difficulty for another club.

Desmond had his back. Over time, Rodgers employed the charm, delivered the wins and the trophies, and an uneasy peace with the fans became a love-in once more.

It was inevitable - consistently - going to be a moment when his ambition came in contact with the club's business model, however.

It happened in his initial tenure and it transpired once more, with added intensity, recently. Rodgers spoke openly about the sluggish way the team conducted their player acquisitions, the endless delay for prospects to be secured, then not landed, as was frequently the case as far as he was believed.

Repeatedly he spoke about the need for what he called "agility" in the market. Supporters concurred with him.

Even when the organization splurged record amounts of money in a twelve-month period on the £11m Arne Engels, the £9m another player and the significant further acquisition - all of whom have cut it to date, 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 inside the team and then distanced himself. Upon questioning about his comments at his next media briefing he would usually downplay it and almost contradict what he said.

Internal issues? No, no, all are united, he'd claim. It looked like he was engaging in a dangerous game.

A few months back there was a story in a publication that allegedly came from a source associated with the organization. It claimed that the manager was harming Celtic with his open criticisms and that his true aim was managing his exit strategy.

He desired not to be present and he was arranging his exit, that was the implication of the article.

Supporters were enraged. They now saw him as akin to a martyr who might be carried out on his shield because his board members did not support his vision to bring success.

The leak was damaging, naturally, and it was meant to hurt Rodgers, which it accomplished. He called for an investigation and for the guilty person to be dismissed. If there was a probe then we heard no more about it.

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

The frequent {gripes