The Way Irretrievable Collapse Led to a Brutal Parting for Brendan Rodgers & Celtic

Merely a quarter of an hour following Celtic issued the announcement of Brendan Rodgers' surprising resignation via a perfunctory short communication, the bombshell landed, courtesy of the major shareholder, with clear signs in obvious anger.

Through an extensive statement, key investor Desmond eviscerated his old chum.

This individual he convinced to come to the club when their rivals were getting uppity in 2016 and needed putting in their place. Plus the man he once more turned to after Ange Postecoglou departed to another club in the recent offseason.

So intense was the severity of Desmond's takedown, the astonishing comeback of the former boss was almost an after-thought.

Two decades after his exit from the club, and after a large part of his latter years was dedicated to an continuous series of appearances and the playing of all his old hits at Celtic, Martin O'Neill is returned in the dugout.

For now - and maybe for a time. Considering things he has said recently, he has been eager to get another job. He'll view this role as the ultimate opportunity, a present from the club's legacy, a return to the environment where he enjoyed such glory and adulation.

Would he give it up readily? It seems unlikely. The club might well make a call to contact Postecoglou, but O'Neill will act as a balm for the time being.

All-out Attempt at Character Assassination

The new manager's return - however strange as it may be - can be parked because the most significant 'wow!' development was the harsh way the shareholder described Rodgers.

This constituted a full-blooded attempt at character assassination, a branding 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 expense of everyone else," stated he.

For somebody who prizes decorum and sets high importance in business being conducted with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, this was a further illustration of how abnormal things have become at the club.

Desmond, the organization's most powerful presence, moves in the margins. The absentee totem, the individual with the authority to make all the major calls he pleases without having the obligation of justifying them in any open setting.

He never participate in club AGMs, dispatching his offspring, Ross, instead. He seldom, if ever, gives interviews about the team unless they're glowing in tone. And still, he's reluctant to speak out.

He has been known on an occasion or two to support the club with private messages to news outlets, but no statement is made in public.

This is precisely how he's wanted it to remain. And it's just what he contradicted when going full thermonuclear on Rodgers on Monday.

The directive from the team is that he resigned, but reviewing his invective, carefully, you have to wonder why he allow it to reach such a critical point?

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

He has accused him of distorting information in open forums that were inconsistent with reality.

He claims his words "have contributed to a hostile atmosphere around the club and encouraged animosity towards members of the management and the board. Some of the criticism aimed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable."

Such an remarkable charge, indeed. Lawyers might be preparing as we speak.

His Aspirations Conflicted with the Club's Strategy Once More'

Looking back to better days, they were tight, the two men. Rodgers lauded the shareholder at all opportunities, expressed gratitude to him whenever possible. Rodgers deferred to him and, truly, to no one other.

It was the figure who took the heat when Rodgers' returned occurred, after the previous manager.

It was the most controversial hiring, the return of the prodigal son for a few or, as 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 Rodgers' support. Over time, the manager turned on the charm, delivered the victories and the trophies, and an fragile truce with the supporters became a love-in again.

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

It happened in his initial tenure and it transpired again, with bells on, recently. He spoke openly about the sluggish way Celtic conducted their transfer business, the interminable waiting for prospects to be landed, then missed, as was frequently the case as far as he was concerned.

Time and again he stated about the need for what he termed "flexibility" in the market. The fans agreed with him.

Even when the club splurged unprecedented sums of funds in a calendar year on the £11m Arne Engels, the costly Adam Idah and the £6m further acquisition - all of whom have cut it so far, with one already having departed - the manager pushed for increased resources and, often, he did it in public.

He set a bomb about a internal disunity within the team and then distanced himself. Upon questioning about his remarks at his subsequent media briefing he would usually minimize it and almost reverse what he stated.

Internal issues? No, no, everybody is aligned, he'd claim. It looked like Rodgers was playing a risky game.

A few months back there was a report in a publication that purportedly originated from a insider associated with the organization. It claimed that the manager was harming the team with his open criticisms and that his real motivation was managing his departure plan.

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

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

This disclosure was poisonous, naturally, and it was meant to hurt him, which it accomplished. He called for an inquiry and for the guilty person to be dismissed. Whether there was a examination then we learned nothing further about it.

At that point it was clear Rodgers was shedding the support of the individuals in charge.

The regular {gripes