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Just a quarter of an hour after Celtic released the announcement of their manager's shock resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph communication, the bombshell arrived, courtesy of the major shareholder, with whiskers twitching in obvious anger.

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

This individual he persuaded to come to the team when their rivals were gaining ground in that period and required being in their place. Plus the man he once more turned to after Ange Postecoglou departed to Tottenham in the summer of 2023.

So intense was the severity of his critique, the astonishing comeback of Martin O'Neill was practically an after-thought.

Twenty years after his exit from the club, and after a large part of his latter years was dedicated to an unending circuit of appearances and the playing of all his past successes at Celtic, Martin O'Neill is returned in the manager's seat.

Currently - and perhaps for a time. Considering comments he has said recently, O'Neill has been keen to secure another job. He will view this role as the ultimate opportunity, a present from the club's legacy, a return to the environment where he experienced such glory and praise.

Would he give it up readily? You wouldn't have thought so. Celtic could possibly reach out to contact their ex-manager, but the new appointment will act as a soothing presence for the time being.

'Full-blooded Effort at Character Assassination

The new manager's return - however strange as it is - can be set aside because the most significant 'wow!' development was the brutal manner Desmond described Rodgers.

This constituted a forceful attempt at defamation, a labeling of Rodgers as untrustful, a source of falsehoods, a disseminator of misinformation; disruptive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "A single person's desire for self-preservation at the expense of everyone else," stated Desmond.

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

The major figure, the club's dominant presence, operates in the margins. The remote leader, the one with the power to take all the major decisions he pleases without having the obligation of justifying them in any public forum.

He never participate in club annual meetings, sending his offspring, Ross, instead. He seldom, if ever, does interviews about the team unless they're glowing in tone. And even then, he's slow to communicate.

There have been instances on an rare moment to support the organization with private missives to news outlets, but nothing is heard in public.

It's exactly how he's wanted it to be. And it's just what he went against when launching all-out attack on the manager on Monday.

The directive from the team is that Rodgers stepped down, but reviewing his invective, line by line, you have to wonder why he allow it to get this far down the line?

Assuming the manager is guilty of all of the accusations that Desmond is claiming he's responsible for, then it's fair to ask why had been the coach not dismissed?

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

He says his statements "played a part to a hostile environment around the team and fuelled hostility towards members of the management and the board. A portion of the abuse directed at them, and at their loved ones, has been entirely unwarranted and improper."

What an extraordinary charge, that is. Legal representatives might be preparing as we discuss.

'Rodgers' Aspirations Conflicted with the Club's Strategy Once More'

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

It was the figure who took the criticism when Rodgers' comeback occurred, after the previous manager.

This marked the most controversial hiring, the return of the returning hero for some supporters or, as other supporters would have described it, the arrival of the unapologetic figure, who departed in the lurch for Leicester.

The shareholder had Rodgers' back. Over time, the manager employed the charm, achieved the wins and the honors, and an fragile truce with the fans became a love-in again.

It was inevitable - always - going to be a moment when Rodgers' goals clashed with the club's operational approach, though.

This occurred in his initial tenure and it happened once more, with added intensity, over the last year. Rodgers publicly commented about the slow way the team conducted their transfer business, the interminable delay for targets to be secured, then not landed, as was too often the situation as far as he was concerned.

Repeatedly he spoke about the need for what he called "agility" in the transfer window. Supporters agreed with him.

Despite the organization splurged unprecedented sums of money in a twelve-month period on the £11m Arne Engels, the £9m another player and the significant further acquisition - none of whom have performed well to date, with Idah since having departed - the manager pushed for increased resources and, oftentimes, he did it in public.

He planted a controversy about a internal disunity within the team and then walked away. Upon questioning about his comments at his subsequent media briefing he would usually minimize it and nearly contradict what he said.

Internal issues? Not at all, all are united, he'd claim. It appeared like he was playing a risky game.

Earlier this year there was a story in a newspaper that purportedly came from a source associated with the organization. It claimed that Rodgers was harming the team with his open criticisms and that his true aim was orchestrating his exit strategy.

He desired not to be there and he was arranging his exit, that was the tone of the story.

Supporters were enraged. They now viewed him as akin to a sacrificial figure who might be carried out on his shield because his directors wouldn't back his vision to bring success.

This disclosure was poisonous, of course, and it was intended to hurt him, which it did. He demanded for an investigation and for the responsible individual to be removed. Whether there was a examination then we heard no more about it.

By then it was clear Rodgers was shedding the backing of the individuals above him.

The regular {gripes