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Just fifteen minutes after Celtic released the news of their manager's surprising departure via a brief five-paragraph communication, the bombshell arrived, courtesy of Dermot Desmond, with whiskers twitching in apparent fury.

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

The man he convinced to join the club when their rivals were gaining ground in 2016 and required being in their place. And the man he again relied on after Ange Postecoglou departed to another club in the recent offseason.

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

Twenty years after his departure from the club, and after much of his latter years was given over to an unending series of appearances and the performance of all his old hits at Celtic, O'Neill is returned in the dugout.

For now - and maybe for a time. Considering things he has said lately, O'Neill has been eager to secure another job. He'll view this one as the ultimate opportunity, a present from the Celtic Gods, a homecoming to the place where he experienced such success and praise.

Would he give it up readily? It seems unlikely. Celtic might well reach out to sound out Postecoglou, but O'Neill will act as a soothing presence for the moment.

'Full-blooded Effort at Character Assassination

The new manager's return - as surreal as it is - can be set aside because the biggest shocking development was the harsh way the shareholder wrote of the former manager.

It was a full-blooded endeavor at defamation, a branding of Rodgers as untrustful, a source of untruths, a spreader of falsehoods; divisive, misleading and unacceptable. "A single person's desire for self-preservation at the expense of others," wrote Desmond.

For somebody who values decorum and places great store in dealings being done with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, this was a further example of how abnormal things have become at Celtic.

Desmond, the organization's most powerful presence, moves in the margins. The remote leader, the one with the power to take all the major decisions he wants without having the obligation of explaining them in any public forum.

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

He has been known on an occasion or two to defend the club with confidential missives to news outlets, but no statement is made in the open.

This is precisely how he's wanted it to be. And it's just what he went against when launching full thermonuclear on Rodgers on Monday.

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

If Rodgers is guilty of every one of the accusations that Desmond is alleging he's responsible for, then it is reasonable to inquire why was the coach not dismissed?

He has accused him of distorting information in open forums that did not tally with the facts.

He says Rodgers' words "played a part to a hostile atmosphere around the club and encouraged animosity towards members of the executive team and the directors. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable."

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

His Aspirations Clashed with Celtic's Model Again

Looking back to better times, they were close, Dermot and Brendan. The manager lauded the shareholder at all opportunities, thanked him every chance. Rodgers respected him and, truly, to nobody else.

This was Desmond who took the criticism when his comeback occurred, post-Postecoglou.

It was the most controversial appointment, the reappearance of the prodigal son for some supporters or, as some other supporters would have put it, the return of the shameless one, who departed in the lurch for Leicester.

Desmond had his support. Over time, Rodgers employed the persuasion, achieved the wins and the honors, and an fragile truce with the fans turned into a love-in once more.

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

It happened in his initial tenure and it transpired again, with bells on, recently. He publicly commented about the slow process Celtic went about their transfer business, the endless delay for prospects to be landed, then not landed, as was frequently the situation as far as he was believed.

Repeatedly he stated about the necessity for what he called "agility" in the market. The fans concurred with him.

Even when the club spent unprecedented sums of money in a twelve-month period on the £11m Arne Engels, the costly another player and the significant further acquisition - all of whom have performed well so far, with Idah since having departed - the manager demanded increased resources and, oftentimes, he expressed this in public.

He planted a controversy about a internal disunity within the team and then walked away. Upon questioning about his comments at his subsequent news conference he would typically downplay it and almost reverse what he said.

Internal issues? No, no, all are united, he'd say. It appeared like he was engaging in a risky strategy.

A few months back there was a report in a publication that allegedly originated from a insider associated with the organization. It said that Rodgers was harming the team with his public outbursts and that his real motivation was orchestrating his departure plan.

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

The fans were enraged. They now saw him as similar to a martyr who might be removed on his shield because his board members wouldn't support his vision to bring success.

The leak was poisonous, naturally, and it was intended to hurt him, which it accomplished. He called for an inquiry and for the responsible individual to be removed. If there was a examination then we heard no more about it.

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

The regular {gripes