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Merely fifteen minutes following Celtic released the news of Brendan Rodgers' surprising resignation via a brief five-paragraph statement, the bombshell landed, courtesy of Dermot Desmond, with clear signs in apparent anger.

Through an extensive statement, major shareholder Desmond eviscerated his former ally.

This individual he persuaded to join the team when their rivals were gaining ground in 2016 and needed putting back in a box. And the figure he once more relied on after Ange Postecoglou departed to another club in the recent offseason.

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

Two decades after his departure from the organization, and after a large part of his recent life was dedicated to an continuous series of appearances and the performance of all his old hits at Celtic, O'Neill is returned in the manager's seat.

For now - and perhaps for a while. Based on things he has said lately, he has been keen to secure another job. He'll see this role as the perfect chance, a present from the Celtic Gods, a return to the environment where he enjoyed such glory and adulation.

Would he give it up readily? You wouldn't have thought so. Celtic might well reach out to sound out Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a soothing presence for the time being.

All-out Effort at Character Assassination

The new manager's return - however strange as it may be - can be set aside because the biggest shocking moment was the harsh way the shareholder described the former manager.

It was a forceful endeavor at character assassination, a branding of him as untrustful, a source of untruths, a spreader of falsehoods; divisive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "One individual's desire for self-interest at the cost of everyone else," stated Desmond.

For a person who prizes propriety and sets high importance in dealings being conducted with discretion, if not complete secrecy, here was a further example of how unusual things have grown at Celtic.

Desmond, the club's dominant figure, moves in the background. The remote leader, the one with the power to make 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, dispatching his offspring, Ross, in his place. He seldom, if ever, gives interviews about the team unless they're glowing in nature. And still, he's reluctant to speak out.

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

It's exactly how he's wanted it to remain. And that's just what he contradicted when launching all-out attack on Rodgers on that day.

The directive from the club is that he resigned, but reading his invective, carefully, one must question why he allow it to get this far down the line?

Assuming Rodgers is guilty of every one of the things that the shareholder is alleging he's responsible for, then it's fair to inquire why was the coach not removed?

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

He claims Rodgers' words "played a part to a toxic atmosphere around the club and fuelled hostility towards individuals of the management and the directors. A portion of the criticism aimed at them, and at their families, has been completely unjustified and unacceptable."

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

'Rodgers' Ambition Conflicted with Celtic's Strategy Again

To return to better times, they were close, Dermot and Brendan. Rodgers praised Desmond at every turn, expressed gratitude to him whenever possible. Rodgers respected him and, truly, to no one other.

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

This marked the most controversial appointment, the reappearance of the returning hero for a few or, as other supporters would have put it, the return of the unapologetic figure, who departed in the lurch for Leicester.

The shareholder had his support. Gradually, the manager turned on the charm, achieved the wins and the trophies, and an uneasy peace with the fans became a love-in again.

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

This occurred in his first incarnation and it happened again, with bells on, over the last year. He spoke openly about the sluggish way the team conducted their player acquisitions, the interminable waiting for targets to be landed, then missed, as was too often the situation as far as he was believed.

Time and again he stated about the need for what he called "agility" in the market. The fans agreed with him.

Despite the club spent record amounts of funds in a twelve-month period on the £11m one signing, the £9m another player and the significant further acquisition - all of whom have cut it to date, with one since having departed - the manager demanded increased resources and, oftentimes, he expressed this in openly.

He set a bomb about a internal disunity within the club and then walked away. When asked about his remarks at his next news conference he would typically downplay it and nearly contradict what he stated.

Internal issues? Not at all, everybody is aligned, he'd say. It looked like he was playing a dangerous game.

Earlier this year there was a report in a newspaper that purportedly originated from a insider close to the organization. It said that Rodgers was damaging the team with his open criticisms and that his real motivation was managing his exit strategy.

He desired not to be there and he was engineering his exit, this 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 directors did not back his vision to bring success.

The leak was poisonous, naturally, and it was meant to harm Rodgers, which it accomplished. He demanded for an inquiry and for the responsible individual to be dismissed. Whether there was a probe then we heard nothing further about it.

At that point it was plain the manager was losing the support of the individuals above him.

The regular {gripes