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Merely fifteen minutes following Celtic released the announcement of their manager's surprising departure via a brief short statement, the howitzer arrived, courtesy of the major shareholder, with clear signs in apparent fury.

In 551-words, key investor Desmond savaged his old chum.

This individual he convinced to join the team when their rivals were getting uppity in 2016 and required being in their place. And the figure he once more relied on after Ange Postecoglou departed to another club in the recent offseason.

Such was the ferocity of Desmond's critique, the astonishing comeback of the former boss was almost an secondary note.

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

Currently - and perhaps for a while. Based on things he has expressed lately, O'Neill has been eager to secure a new position. He will view this role as the ultimate opportunity, a present from the club's legacy, a return to the environment where he enjoyed such success and praise.

Will he give it up readily? It seems unlikely. The club might well reach out to sound out Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a balm for the moment.

All-out Attempt at Character Assassination

O'Neill's reappearance - however strange as it is - can be set aside because the most significant shocking development was the brutal way the shareholder wrote of Rodgers.

It was a forceful attempt at character assassination, a labeling of him as deceitful, a source of falsehoods, a disseminator of falsehoods; disruptive, misleading and unjustifiable. "A single person's desire for self-interest at the expense of everyone else," stated Desmond.

For a person who values decorum and places great store in dealings being conducted with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, here was another illustration of how unusual things have grown at Celtic.

The major figure, the organization's most powerful presence, operates in the background. The remote leader, the one with the authority to take all the important calls he wants without having the responsibility of justifying them in any open setting.

He never attend team annual meetings, dispatching his son, Ross, in his place. He rarely, if ever, gives media talks about Celtic unless they're glowing in tone. And still, he's slow to speak out.

He has been known on an rare moment to support the organization with confidential messages to news outlets, but nothing is heard in the open.

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

The official line from the club is that he resigned, but reviewing his criticism, line by line, one must question why he permit it to get this far down the line?

If Rodgers is culpable of every one of the things that Desmond is claiming he's responsible for, then it's fair to inquire why was the manager not dismissed?

Desmond has charged him of distorting information in public that were inconsistent with the facts.

He claims Rodgers' words "have contributed to a toxic atmosphere 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 completely unjustified and unacceptable."

Such an remarkable allegation, indeed. Lawyers might be mobilising as we discuss.

His Aspirations Clashed with the Club's Strategy Once More'

Looking back to better times, they were close, the two men. Rodgers praised Desmond at all opportunities, expressed gratitude to him whenever possible. Rodgers deferred to him and, really, to no one other.

It was Desmond who drew the heat when Rodgers' returned happened, after the previous manager.

It was the most controversial appointment, the return of the returning hero for some supporters or, as some other supporters would have put it, the arrival of the unapologetic figure, who departed in the lurch for another club.

Desmond had Rodgers' support. Gradually, the manager turned on the charm, delivered the victories and the trophies, and an fragile truce with the fans turned into a affectionate relationship again.

There was always - consistently - going to be a point when his ambition came in contact with the club's business model, however.

It happened in his initial tenure and it happened once more, with bells on, over the last year. He spoke openly about the slow way the team conducted their player acquisitions, the endless waiting for prospects to be secured, then missed, as was frequently the situation as far as he was believed.

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

Even when the club spent record amounts of funds in a twelve-month period on the £11m one signing, the £9m another player and the significant Auston Trusty - none of whom have cut it to date, with Idah already having departed - Rodgers demanded increased resources and, oftentimes, he did it in public.

He planted a bomb about a internal disunity within the team and then walked away. When asked about his comments at his subsequent media briefing he would usually downplay it and almost contradict what he stated.

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

A few months back there was a report in a newspaper that purportedly originated from a source close to the organization. It said that the manager was damaging Celtic with his public outbursts and that his true aim was managing his departure plan.

He desired not to be present and he was arranging his way out, that was the tone of the article.

The fans were enraged. They then viewed him as similar to a sacrificial figure who might be carried out on his shield because his board members wouldn't back his vision to bring triumph.

This disclosure was poisonous, naturally, and it was meant to harm Rodgers, which it accomplished. He called for an investigation and for the guilty person to be removed. If there was a probe then we learned nothing further about it.

At that point it was clear the manager was losing the backing of the individuals in charge.

The frequent {gripes