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Just a quarter of an hour following Celtic issued the announcement of Brendan Rodgers' shock departure via a brief short statement, the howitzer arrived, from Dermot Desmond, with clear signs in obvious anger.

In 551-words, key investor Desmond savaged his former ally.

The man he persuaded to join the club when Rangers were gaining ground in 2016 and needed putting back in a box. And the man he once more turned to after Ange Postecoglou departed to another club in the recent offseason.

Such was the severity of Desmond's takedown, the jaw-dropping return of the former boss was practically an secondary note.

Twenty years after his departure from the organization, and after a large part of his recent life was dedicated to an unending series of public speaking engagements and the performance of all his old hits at the team, Martin O'Neill is returned in the manager's seat.

Currently - and perhaps for a while. Based on comments he has said lately, he has been eager to get a new position. He will see this role as the perfect chance, a present from the Celtic Gods, a return to the environment where he experienced such glory and praise.

Will he give it up easily? It seems unlikely. The club might well reach out to contact their ex-manager, but O'Neill will act as a soothing presence for the time being.

All-out Effort at Reputation Destruction'

The new manager's return - however strange as it may be - can be parked because the biggest shocking moment was the brutal way Desmond wrote of 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; disruptive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "One individual's wish for self-preservation at the cost of everyone else," stated Desmond.

For somebody who prizes propriety and places great store in dealings being conducted with confidentiality, if not outright privacy, this was a further illustration of how unusual situations have become at Celtic.

The major figure, the organization's dominant presence, moves in the margins. The absentee totem, the individual with the power to make all the major decisions he wants without having the obligation of explaining them in any public forum.

He does not attend club AGMs, sending his offspring, Ross, in his place. He rarely, if ever, gives interviews about Celtic unless they're glowing in tone. And even then, he's reluctant to communicate.

He has been known on an occasion or two to defend the club with confidential missives to media organisations, but nothing is made in the open.

It's exactly how he's wanted it to be. And it's exactly what he contradicted when launching all-out attack on Rodgers on Monday.

The directive from the club is that he resigned, but reviewing Desmond's criticism, carefully, you have to wonder why did he allow it to reach this far down the line?

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

Desmond has accused him of spinning things in public that were inconsistent with the facts.

He claims his words "played a part to a toxic atmosphere around the club and encouraged animosity towards members of the management and the board. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been completely unjustified and improper."

What an remarkable allegation, that is. Lawyers might be preparing as we discuss.

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

Looking back to better days, they were tight, the two men. Rodgers praised Desmond at every turn, thanked him every chance. Rodgers respected him and, truly, to nobody else.

It was Desmond who took the criticism when Rodgers' comeback occurred, post-Postecoglou.

This marked the most controversial appointment, the reappearance of the returning hero for some supporters or, as other Celtic fans would have put it, the arrival of the shameless one, who departed in the difficulty for another club.

Desmond had Rodgers' back. Over time, the manager turned on the charm, achieved the victories and the trophies, and an fragile peace with the fans became a love-in once more.

It was inevitable - consistently - going to be a moment when Rodgers' goals came in contact with Celtic's operational approach, though.

This occurred in his first incarnation and it transpired once more, with bells on, recently. He spoke openly about the sluggish process Celtic 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 concerned.

Time and again he spoke about the need for what he called "flexibility" in the transfer window. The fans agreed with him.

Despite the organization splurged record amounts of funds in a calendar year on the expensive Arne Engels, the costly Adam Idah and the £6m further acquisition - none of whom have performed well so far, with one since having departed - the manager pushed for more and more and, often, he expressed this in openly.

He set a controversy about a internal disunity inside the club and then distanced himself. When asked about his remarks at his subsequent media briefing he would usually minimize it and nearly contradict what he stated.

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

A few months back there was a report in a newspaper that allegedly originated from a source close to the organization. It said that Rodgers was harming the team with his open criticisms and that his true aim was managing his departure plan.

He didn't want to be present and he was engineering his exit, that was the implication of the article.

Supporters were enraged. They now viewed him as akin to a sacrificial figure who might be carried out on his honor because his board members wouldn't support his plans to achieve triumph.

The leak was damaging, naturally, and it was meant to harm him, which it did. He called for an inquiry and for the guilty person to be removed. If there was a probe then we learned nothing further about it.

By then it was plain the manager was shedding the support of the individuals in charge.

The regular {gripes