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Merely a quarter of an hour following Celtic released the announcement of their manager's shock departure via a perfunctory five-paragraph communication, the howitzer landed, from Dermot Desmond, with whiskers twitching in obvious fury.

Through 551-words, major shareholder Desmond savaged his old chum.

The man he persuaded to join the club when their rivals were gaining ground in that period and needed putting in their place. Plus the man he once more relied on after the previous manager left for Tottenham in the summer of 2023.

So intense was the ferocity of his takedown, the jaw-dropping return of the former boss was practically an after-thought.

Twenty years after his departure from the organization, and after much of his recent life was given over to an unending series of appearances and the playing of all his old hits at the team, Martin O'Neill is back in the manager's seat.

For now - and maybe for a while. Based on things he has said recently, O'Neill has been keen to secure a new position. He will view this role as the ultimate opportunity, a gift from the club's legacy, a homecoming to the place where he enjoyed such glory and adulation.

Would he give it up easily? It seems unlikely. The club might well make a call to contact Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a soothing presence for the time being.

'Full-blooded Attempt at Reputation Destruction'

O'Neill's return - as surreal as it may be - can be set aside because the biggest shocking development was the harsh manner the shareholder described Rodgers.

This constituted a full-blooded endeavor at character assassination, a labeling of him as untrustful, a perpetrator of untruths, a disseminator of falsehoods; divisive, misleading and unacceptable. "One individual's wish for self-preservation at the expense of everyone else," stated he.

For a person who values decorum and places great store in dealings being done with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, this was another example of how unusual things have become at the club.

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

He does not participate in club annual meetings, dispatching his son, Ross, instead. He seldom, if ever, does media talks about the team unless they're hagiographic in tone. And still, he's slow to speak out.

There have been instances on an occasion or two to support the club with confidential missives to news outlets, but no statement is heard in public.

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

The directive from the team is that he resigned, but reading Desmond's invective, line by line, you have to wonder why he allow it to get this far down the line?

If the manager is culpable of all 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 things in public that did not tally with the facts.

He says his statements "have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club and encouraged animosity towards members of the management and the board. Some of the criticism directed at them, and at their families, has been completely unwarranted and improper."

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

'Rodgers' Aspirations Conflicted with the Club's Model Again

To return to better days, they were tight, Dermot and Brendan. Rodgers praised Desmond at all opportunities, thanked him whenever possible. Brendan deferred to Dermot and, really, to no one other.

This was the figure who drew the criticism when Rodgers' comeback occurred, post-Postecoglou.

This marked the most divisive appointment, the return of the returning hero for some supporters or, as other Celtic fans would have put it, the return of the shameless one, who departed in the lurch for Leicester.

The shareholder had his back. Over time, Rodgers employed the charm, delivered the wins and the honors, and an fragile peace with the supporters turned into a affectionate relationship again.

It was inevitable - always - going to be a point when Rodgers' goals came in contact with Celtic's business model, however.

It happened in his first incarnation and it happened once more, with bells on, recently. Rodgers spoke openly about the sluggish way the team went about their player acquisitions, the interminable delay for prospects to be secured, then missed, as was too often the case as far as he was concerned.

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

Even when the club splurged unprecedented sums of money in a calendar year on the expensive Arne Engels, the costly another player and the significant further acquisition - all of whom have performed well to date, with one already having left - the manager demanded more and more and, oftentimes, he did it in public.

He planted a controversy about a lack of cohesion inside the club and then walked away. Upon questioning about his comments at his next news conference he would usually downplay it and nearly reverse what he said.

Internal issues? No, no, all are united, he'd say. It looked like he was engaging in a risky strategy.

A few months back there was a report in a newspaper that purportedly originated from a source close to the organization. It claimed that Rodgers was harming Celtic with his open criticisms and that his real motivation was orchestrating his departure plan.

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

The fans were angered. They now saw him as similar to a martyr who might be removed on his shield because his directors wouldn't support his vision to achieve triumph.

This disclosure was poisonous, of course, and it was meant to hurt Rodgers, which it accomplished. He demanded for an inquiry and for the guilty person to be removed. Whether 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 above him.

The frequent {gripes