The accusation was of a club bereft of vision, that the all-encompassing 10 In A Row was pursued at the cost of pretty much everything else.
"Ludicrous" - according to Neil Lennon, four days after Celtic were bodily flung out of Champions League qualifying by Ferencvaros and not six months before he lost his job.
Evidence to the contrary had stacked up long before then and what once appeared an unstoppable green and white juggernaut spluttered its way to the end of the rainbow to find the pot of gold had long gone.
With the wheels well and truly off, the road back looked a frighteningly long one for Celtic.
The departure of long-serving chief-executive Peter Lawwell, key players' contracts expiring and a resurgent Rangers under Steven Gerrard stacked the odds against whoever eventually replaced Lennon in the dugout.
With all that in mind, the very public and ultimately doomed pursuit of Eddie Howe certainly did not feel like the happiest of accidents.
Fast forward eight months, however, and already it could well mark one of the most significant sliding doors moment in the club's long history.
For what Ange Postecoglou has pieced together in his short tenure has already outstripped most of even the most optimistic predictions.
In what was supposed to be the crowning glory of a decade of success, Celtic fans were instead handed uninspiring (even disastrous) signings, a turgid style of play and the deep fracturing of the relationship between a club and its supporters.
Less than a year later, it's starting to feel like a distant memory.
Postecoglou, an unknown quantity in Scottish football whose arrival was met with scepticism by many, has rapidly implemented a high octane philosophy catalysed by a raft of young, vibrant additions and the reunification of a disillusioned fanbase.
He delivered the League Cup in December and, after blowing away champions Rangers in midweek, Celtic sit top of the Premiership with 14 games to play.
Of course, nothing has yet been decided in the title race, as the manager has carefully stressed, but the momentum is very much with his players.
It was never supposed to be a one-season job, in any event, but the efficiency with which Postecoglou has now restored some semblance of a long-term vision is highly impressive.
In the summer, Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie all departed for well below their projected transfer values, having been allowed to enter the final months of their contracts in a gamble at delivering the 10.
Failed short-term loan signings Shane Duffy, Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt are best forgotten, and expensive summer 2020 acquisitions in Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti already looked surplus to requirements.
Compare with the business already conducted under Postecoglou and the contrast is stark.
They've unearthed a superstar in Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate could well be another and the club are in pole position to sign Jota on a permanent deal from Benfica.
Add in Joe Hart, Josip Juranovic, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Matt O'Riley, Daizen Maeda among others and it's fair to say transfers have been a success thus far.
But not only has it restored cohesion on the pitch, the short-termism that dogged the chase for 10 has been abandoned.
Almost exactly a year ago, the Celtic side which took to the field against Motherwell had an average remaining contract length of under two years.
Against Rangers on Wednesday, that number has climbed almost to three-and-a-half years.
The average age Postecoglou's signings to date is just 23.
The last thing anyone of a green and white persuasion wants to hear at the minute is talk of sales, but player trading will remain a key part of the club's strategy and, in that regard, they are well set once more.
For now, however, this looks like a team built to last and one still well short of its peak.
What's perhaps most impressive about this turnaround is how much of it the manager has seemingly conducted on his own.
You won't catch Postecoglou taking any credit, but it's his ideas which have transformed the team on the pitch and in the transfer market.
Whispers surrounding the appointment of a sporting director have faded into silence and there's been yet more upheaval in the boardroom - with Lawwell's replacement in Dominic McKay already succeeded by Michael Nicholson.
As well as being the manager, Postecoglou appears to have become Celtic's de facto head of recruitment.
The club have long faced calls to modernise their structure in line with the most lauded European football operations, but Postecoglou has expressed his preference to retain "control" over signings and, at the moment, it's hard to argue with his hit rate.
An obvious pitfall here is if he was to suddenly depart unexpectedly, but the 56-year-old has given no indication he's in it for anything other than the long haul.
As for the here and now, a first title win and the restoration of Celtic's reputation on the continent will be at the forefront of the manager's mind.
Celtic are now very much the house that Ange built - but it's clear he's just getting started.
