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Merely fifteen minutes following the club released the news of Brendan Rodgers' shock resignation via a perfunctory five-paragraph communication, the howitzer arrived, from Dermot Desmond, with whiskers twitching in obvious fury.

In 551-words, key investor Desmond eviscerated his old chum.

The man he convinced to come to the club when Rangers were getting uppity in 2016 and required being in their place. And the figure he again relied on after the previous manager left for another club in the recent offseason.

So intense was the severity of his takedown, the jaw-dropping comeback of the former boss was almost an secondary note.

Twenty years after his exit from the organization, and after much of his recent life was dedicated to an unending series of appearances and the playing of all his past successes at the team, Martin O'Neill is returned in the dugout.

For now - and maybe for a while. Considering things he has said lately, he has been eager to secure a new position. He will view this one as the perfect opportunity, a present from the Celtic Gods, a return to the place where he experienced such glory and praise.

Would he relinquish it easily? It seems unlikely. Celtic might well make a call to sound out Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a balm for the time being.

All-out Attempt at Character Assassination

O'Neill's return - as surreal as it may be - can be set aside because the most significant 'wow!' moment was the brutal way the shareholder wrote of Rodgers.

This constituted a full-blooded endeavor at character assassination, a labeling of him as untrustful, a source of untruths, a disseminator of falsehoods; disruptive, deceptive and unacceptable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the cost of others," stated he.

For a person who prizes decorum and sets high importance in dealings being done with confidentiality, if not outright secrecy, here was another example of how abnormal situations have grown at the club.

Desmond, the club's dominant figure, operates in the margins. The absentee totem, the one with the power to make all the major decisions he wants without having the responsibility of justifying them in any public forum.

He does not attend club AGMs, dispatching his son, his son, instead. He rarely, if ever, does interviews about Celtic unless they're glowing in tone. And even then, he's slow to speak out.

He has been known on an occasion or two to defend the organization with confidential missives to news outlets, but nothing is made in the open.

It's exactly how he's preferred it to remain. And that's just what he went against when launching full thermonuclear on Rodgers on that day.

The directive from the club is that Rodgers stepped down, but reviewing Desmond's invective, carefully, one must question why did he permit it to get such a critical point?

Assuming the manager is guilty of all of the accusations that the shareholder is claiming he's responsible for, then it's fair to inquire why had been the coach not dismissed?

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

He says his words "have contributed to a hostile environment around the club and fuelled hostility towards individuals of the executive team and the directors. A portion of the abuse aimed at them, and at their loved ones, has been completely unjustified and improper."

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

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

Looking back to happier times, they were tight, the two men. Rodgers lauded Desmond at all opportunities, thanked him every chance. Brendan respected Dermot and, truly, to no one other.

It was the figure who took the criticism when Rodgers' comeback happened, after the previous manager.

It was the most controversial appointment, 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 left them in the lurch for another club.

The shareholder had his back. Gradually, the manager turned on the charm, delivered the victories and the trophies, and an uneasy truce with the fans turned into a affectionate relationship once more.

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

It happened in his initial tenure and it happened again, with bells on, recently. He spoke openly about the slow way the team conducted their transfer business, the interminable delay for prospects to be secured, then not landed, as was frequently the case as far as he was believed.

Time and again he spoke about the necessity for what he called "agility" in the market. Supporters concurred with him.

Even when the club spent unprecedented sums of funds in a twelve-month period on the expensive one signing, the costly another player and the £6m Auston Trusty - none of whom have cut it so far, with Idah already having departed - Rodgers demanded more and more and, oftentimes, he expressed this in public.

He planted a bomb about a lack of cohesion within the club and then walked away. Upon questioning about his remarks at his subsequent news conference he would usually downplay it and nearly contradict what he said.

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

A few months back there was a story in a publication that purportedly originated from a insider associated with the club. It said that Rodgers was damaging Celtic with his open criticisms and that his true aim was managing his exit strategy.

He didn't want to be there and he was engineering his way out, that was the tone of the article.

The fans were angered. They then viewed him as akin to a sacrificial figure who might be removed on his honor because his board members wouldn't back his vision to bring triumph.

This disclosure was damaging, of course, and it was meant to harm him, which it did. He called for an investigation and for the responsible individual to be dismissed. If there was a probe then we heard nothing further about it.

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

The frequent {gripes