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Just a quarter of an hour after Celtic released the announcement of Brendan Rodgers' surprising resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph statement, the bombshell landed, courtesy of Dermot Desmond, with whiskers twitching in apparent anger.

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

The man he convinced to join the club when Rangers 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 recent offseason.

Such was the severity of Desmond's critique, the jaw-dropping return of the former boss was practically an after-thought.

Two decades after his exit from the organization, and after a large part of his recent life was given over to an unending circuit of appearances and the performance of all his past successes at Celtic, O'Neill is returned in the manager's seat.

For now - and maybe for a while. Considering things he has said recently, O'Neill has been keen to get another job. He'll see this one as the ultimate chance, a gift from the Celtic Gods, a homecoming to the environment where he enjoyed such glory and praise.

Would he give it up readily? You wouldn't have thought so. Celtic could possibly make a call to sound out Postecoglou, but the new appointment will serve as a balm for the moment.

'Full-blooded Effort at Character Assassination

O'Neill's return - as surreal as it may be - can be set aside because the most significant 'wow!' development was the harsh manner Desmond described Rodgers.

It was a full-blooded endeavor at defamation, a branding of Rodgers as deceitful, a perpetrator of untruths, a spreader of misinformation; divisive, misleading and unacceptable. "A single person's desire for self-interest at the expense of others," stated Desmond.

For somebody who prizes propriety and places great store in dealings being conducted with discretion, if not complete privacy, this was another example of how unusual things have grown at the club.

Desmond, the club's most powerful presence, operates in the margins. The remote leader, the one with the power to make all the important calls he pleases without having the obligation of justifying them in any open setting.

He never participate in team annual meetings, dispatching his offspring, Ross, in his place. He rarely, if ever, gives media talks about the team unless they're glowing in nature. And still, he's slow to communicate.

He has been known on an occasion or two to support the club with private missives to media organisations, but no statement is made in the open.

This is precisely how he's wanted it to be. And it's exactly what he contradicted when going full thermonuclear on the manager on that day.

The official line from the team is that he resigned, but reading his criticism, line by line, you have to wonder why he allow it to reach such a critical point?

Assuming Rodgers is culpable of every one of the things that Desmond is alleging he's guilty of, then it is reasonable to ask why was the coach not dismissed?

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

He claims Rodgers' statements "played a part to a hostile atmosphere around the team and fuelled hostility towards members of the executive team and the board. Some of the criticism directed at them, and at their loved ones, has been completely unjustified and unacceptable."

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

His Ambition Clashed with Celtic's Strategy Once More'

To return to happier times, they were tight, Dermot and Brendan. Rodgers praised the shareholder at every turn, expressed gratitude to him whenever possible. Rodgers deferred to Dermot and, really, to no one other.

This was Desmond who took the criticism when Rodgers' comeback happened, after the previous manager.

It was the most controversial hiring, the reappearance of the prodigal son for some supporters or, as other supporters would have described it, the return of the shameless one, who departed in the difficulty for another club.

Desmond had his back. Gradually, the manager employed the persuasion, delivered the wins and the honors, and an fragile peace with the fans turned into a love-in once more.

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

This occurred in his initial tenure and it transpired again, with added intensity, recently. Rodgers publicly commented about the slow process Celtic went about their transfer business, the interminable delay for prospects to be landed, then not landed, as was frequently the case as far as he was believed.

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

Despite the organization splurged record amounts of money in a calendar year on the £11m Arne Engels, the costly another player and the significant further acquisition - none of whom have performed well to date, with one since having departed - Rodgers demanded 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 remarks at his next media briefing he would typically downplay it and almost contradict what he said.

Internal issues? No, no, everybody is aligned, he'd say. It appeared like Rodgers was engaging in a dangerous strategy.

Earlier this year there was a report in a publication that purportedly came from a source close to the club. It said that Rodgers was damaging the team with his public outbursts and that his real motivation was orchestrating his exit strategy.

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

Supporters were enraged. They then viewed him as akin to a martyr who might be carried out on his honor because his board members did not support his plans to bring triumph.

This disclosure was poisonous, naturally, and it was intended to harm him, which it accomplished. He demanded for an investigation and for the guilty person to be dismissed. Whether there was a probe then we learned no more about it.

At that point it was clear the manager was losing the backing of the individuals above him.

The frequent {gripes