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Merely fifteen minutes following Celtic released the news of Brendan Rodgers' surprising departure via a perfunctory five-paragraph communication, the bombshell arrived, courtesy of the major shareholder, with clear signs in obvious anger.

In an extensive statement, key investor Desmond savaged his old chum.

This individual he persuaded to come to the team when Rangers were gaining ground in 2016 and required being in their place. And the figure he again turned to after the previous manager departed to Tottenham in the recent offseason.

So intense was the severity of Desmond's critique, the astonishing return of the former boss was practically an secondary note.

Twenty years after his exit from the organization, and after a large part of his latter years was given over to an unending circuit of public speaking engagements and the performance of all his old hits at the team, O'Neill is back in the dugout.

For now - and maybe for a time. Considering comments he has expressed lately, he has been eager to secure another job. He will view this role as the perfect chance, a present from the Celtic Gods, a homecoming to the place where he experienced such success and adulation.

Would he give it up readily? It seems unlikely. Celtic could possibly reach out to contact Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a soothing presence for the moment.

All-out Effort at Reputation Destruction'

O'Neill's return - as surreal as it may be - can be set aside because the biggest 'wow!' moment was the harsh manner the shareholder wrote of Rodgers.

This constituted a forceful attempt at defamation, a branding of him as untrustful, a perpetrator of untruths, a disseminator of misinformation; divisive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "One individual's desire for self-preservation at the cost of others," wrote Desmond.

For somebody who values propriety and sets high importance in business being done with confidentiality, if not outright secrecy, this was a further example of how unusual situations have become at Celtic.

Desmond, the club's most powerful figure, operates in the background. The absentee totem, the one with the authority to take all the major calls he pleases without having the obligation of justifying them in any open setting.

He does not participate in club AGMs, dispatching his son, his son, in his place. He seldom, if ever, gives 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 confidential missives to media organisations, but nothing is made in public.

This is precisely how he's preferred it to be. And that's exactly what he went against when going all-out attack on Rodgers on Monday.

The directive from the club is that he stepped down, but reading his invective, line by line, one must question why did he permit it to get such a critical point?

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

He has charged him of spinning things in open forums that were inconsistent with the facts.

He claims his words "have contributed to a toxic environment around the club and fuelled hostility towards members of the management and the directors. A portion of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unjustified and improper."

Such an extraordinary charge, indeed. Lawyers might be preparing as we speak.

'Rodgers' Ambition Clashed with Celtic's Model Again

Looking back to happier days, they were tight, the two men. Rodgers lauded Desmond at every turn, thanked him every chance. Brendan deferred to him and, truly, to no one other.

It was the figure who took the criticism when his returned occurred, after the previous manager.

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

The shareholder had his support. Over time, Rodgers employed the charm, achieved the wins and the honors, and an uneasy peace with the supporters became a affectionate relationship again.

It was inevitable - always - going to be a moment when Rodgers' ambition clashed with Celtic's business model, however.

This occurred in his initial tenure and it happened once more, with bells on, recently. Rodgers spoke openly about the sluggish way Celtic conducted their player acquisitions, the endless waiting for prospects to be secured, then not landed, as was frequently the situation as far as he was believed.

Repeatedly he spoke about the necessity for what he called "agility" in the market. The fans concurred with him.

Even when the club spent unprecedented sums of funds in a twelve-month period on the £11m Arne Engels, the £9m Adam Idah and the £6m Auston Trusty - none of whom have cut it so far, with one already having departed - Rodgers pushed for increased resources and, oftentimes, he expressed this in openly.

He set a bomb about a internal disunity within the team and then walked away. Upon questioning about his comments at his next media briefing he would usually minimize it and almost contradict what he stated.

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

A few months back there was a story in a publication that allegedly originated from a source close to the club. It said that the manager was damaging the team 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 exit, that was the implication of the article.

The fans were angered. They now viewed him as similar to a sacrificial figure who might be carried out on his honor because his board members wouldn't back his plans to achieve triumph.

The leak was poisonous, of course, and it was meant to harm Rodgers, which it accomplished. He demanded for an investigation and for the responsible individual to be dismissed. Whether there was a examination then we learned no more about it.

At that point it was clear Rodgers was shedding the support of the individuals above him.

The frequent {gripes