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Merely fifteen minutes following the club released the announcement of Brendan Rodgers' shock departure via a perfunctory five-paragraph communication, the bombshell arrived, courtesy of Dermot Desmond, with clear signs in obvious fury.

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

This individual he convinced to join the team when Rangers were getting uppity in that period and required being in their place. And the man he again relied on after Ange Postecoglou left for another club in the summer of 2023.

Such was the ferocity of his critique, the jaw-dropping comeback of the former boss was almost an secondary note.

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

For now - and maybe for a time. Based on things he has said lately, he has been keen to get another job. He will view this one as the perfect opportunity, a present from the club's legacy, a homecoming to the environment where he enjoyed such glory and praise.

Would he relinquish it easily? It seems unlikely. Celtic might well make a call to contact Postecoglou, but the new appointment will act as a soothing presence for the time being.

All-out Attempt at Character Assassination

The new manager's reappearance - however strange as it may be - can be set aside because the most significant 'wow!' moment was the harsh manner Desmond wrote of the former manager.

This constituted a forceful attempt at defamation, a labeling of Rodgers as deceitful, a perpetrator of falsehoods, a disseminator of misinformation; disruptive, misleading and unacceptable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the cost of everyone else," stated Desmond.

For a person who prizes decorum and sets high importance in business being done with discretion, if not complete secrecy, this was another example of how unusual things have grown at Celtic.

The major figure, the organization's most powerful figure, moves in the margins. The absentee totem, the one with the power to take all the major decisions he pleases without having the obligation of explaining them in any public forum.

He does not participate in team annual meetings, sending his offspring, his son, instead. He seldom, if ever, gives media talks about Celtic unless they're hagiographic in nature. And still, he's slow to communicate.

There have been instances on an rare moment to support the organization with private missives to news outlets, but no statement is heard in public.

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

The directive from the club is that Rodgers stepped down, but reviewing his invective, carefully, you have to wonder why he allow it to reach this far down the line?

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

Desmond has accused him of distorting information in public that did not tally with reality.

He claims Rodgers' words "have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the team and encouraged hostility towards members of the executive team and the directors. A portion of the criticism aimed at them, and at their loved ones, has been completely unjustified and improper."

What an extraordinary allegation, that is. Legal representatives might be preparing as we speak.

His Ambition Clashed with the Club's Model Again

Looking back to happier times, they were tight, the two men. The manager praised Desmond at all opportunities, expressed gratitude to him every chance. Brendan deferred to him and, truly, to nobody else.

This was the figure who drew the heat when Rodgers' returned happened, after the previous manager.

This marked the most controversial appointment, the return of the prodigal son for a few or, as some other Celtic fans would have put it, the return of the unapologetic figure, who departed in the difficulty for Leicester.

The shareholder had Rodgers' back. Gradually, the manager turned on the charm, achieved 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 clashed with the club's business model, however.

This occurred in his first incarnation and it transpired again, with added intensity, over the last year. He spoke openly about the slow process the team conducted their transfer business, the interminable delay for targets to be landed, then not landed, as was too often the situation as far as he was believed.

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

Despite the organization spent unprecedented sums of money in a twelve-month period on the £11m one signing, the costly another player and the significant Auston Trusty - all of whom have performed well to date, with Idah since having left - the manager demanded more and more and, oftentimes, he did it in openly.

He planted a controversy about a lack of cohesion inside the club and then walked away. Upon questioning about his remarks at his subsequent news conference he would usually minimize it and nearly contradict what he stated.

Lack of cohesion? No, no, all are united, he'd say. It looked like Rodgers was engaging in a risky strategy.

Earlier this year there was a report in a newspaper that allegedly originated from a insider associated with the organization. It said that Rodgers was harming Celtic with his public outbursts and that his real motivation was managing his exit strategy.

He didn't want to be there and he was engineering his exit, that was the tone of the story.

The fans were angered. They now saw him as akin to a martyr who might be carried out on his honor because his directors wouldn't support his vision to achieve success.

This disclosure was damaging, naturally, and it was meant to harm Rodgers, which it did. 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.

By then it was plain the manager was shedding the support of the individuals above him.

The frequent {gripes