By Phil McNulty Chief football writer

Venables was let down by Ridsdale

Leeds United have completed one of the most dramatic declines of the modern era with their relegation to the First Division.

It is only three years ago that then manager David O'Leary led a young and emerging side to the Champions League semi-final.

But Leeds then lurched to disaster in a shambles of financial mismanagement, a fire sale of top players and managerial changes.

Now they face an uphill struggle simply to survive outside the Premiership - so who is to blame?

PETER RIDSDALE
Ridsdale was the lifelong fan who declared he had "lived the dream" as the chairman who lavished Leeds' riches on manager David O'Leary - and then presided over the initial slide into trouble.

He sanctioned almost �100m of transfer spending and brought a succession of high-quality stars to Elland Road, such as �18m Rio Ferdinand, �11m Robbie Fowler and players of the calibre of Olivier Dacourt, Robbie Keane and Mark Viduka.

Ridsdale revelled in his image as a supporter in the boardroom, joining fans in celebration of the glory days such as reaching the Champions League semi-final in 2001.

But this may have been the trait that ultimately led to his downfall.

Many fans blame Ridsdale for Leeds United's current plight

The dream hinged totally on a permanent place in the Champions League - so when they failed to hit the target in 2001 the meltdown started.

David O'Leary, who had done a good job at Elland Road, was sacked and replaced by Terry Venables, who was the man to take Leeds on to "the next level."

In reality he never had a chance.

The days of over-spending meant he had to sell the family silver, so out went Ferdinand, Keane, Fowler, Lee Bowyer, and most damagingly of all Jonathan Woodgate.

Ridsdale told Venables Woodgate would not be sold, so when he departed for Newcastle United for �9m, Ridsdale, Venables and Leeds were doomed.

How was this allowed to happen in a public company? Why did directors not step in and stop the spending before it got out of control?

These were questions that have never fully been answered by Ridsdale or his boardroom colleagues.

He finally stepped down as chairman in March 2003 after six years at the helm.

PROFESSOR JOHN MCKENZIE
McKenzie was an unlikely figure to succeed Ridsdale, an academic with a business background whose demeanour seemed ill-suited to the cut and thrust world of Premiership football.

He formed an "odd couple" partnership with caretaker-manager Peter Reid as Leeds engineered the Premiership survival that secured their immediate future in 2003.

But he was criticised when Harry Kewell left acrimoniously for Liverpool in a deal which only netted the cash-starved club �3m.

He was also criticised by goalkeeper Paul Robinson for setting up an ill-fated proposed move to Aston Villa.

McKenzie was heavily criticised

McKenzie also botched a crisis meeting with Reid when he was under pressure after an horrendous early-season sequence of results.

Showdown talks with Reid were conducted in the full glare of the media at a Halifax hotel - naivety of the highest order.

Reid was rightly furious, but it did not save him his job in the long-term and he was sacked after a 6-1 defeat at Portsmouth.

McKenzie left the board in December after nine months as chairman, but not before being heavily criticised for accepting a �200,000 "consultancy fee" despite the club's parlous position.

DAVID O'LEARY
O'Leary had a turbulent - but some would arguevery successful - spell as manager after stepping up to succeed George Graham in October 1998.

He guided the club to the Champions League semi-final in 2001 and proved he could attract high-profile stars to Elland Road with a series of audacious and ambitious signings.

But he failed to win silverware and had to struggle against the back-drop of a damaging court case involving Le Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate.

He also wrote a book about events at Elland Road which was regarded as ill-judged and badly timed - it certainly did not win bonus points when his future was being assessed.

O'Leary produced a winning team

But O'Leary produced a young, vibrant and attractive football team that packed Elland Road and was close to winning honours.

Of course, O'Leary presided over the spending spree that has reduced the club's ambitions to rubble, but he clawed some cash back and the ultimate rubber-stamp for his outlay was delivered in the boardroom.

He was unlikely to tell his board to stop spending when he was presumably being assured all was well, but his failing was lack of trophies and that crucial failure to clinch a Champions League place in 2002.

O'Leary is not everyone's cup of tea, but by common consent is doing an outstanding job since returning to football at Aston Villa.

TERRY VENABLES
Lame duck number one.

Venables sacrificed the safety of the television studio to return to management at Elland Road in the summer of 2002 - but may have detected the writing was on the wall when his first act was to witness the �29m sale of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United.

All was well when Leeds topped the Premiership early in the season - but it proved a false dawn.

It soon became clear that Leeds were in desperate straits and Venables would have to sell, and not in an attempt to buy, but to save the club.

The crunch came in February 2004 when Robbie Fowler was sold to Manchester City and Jonathan Woodgate to Newcastle in the space of days.

Venables was against both sales, but particularly Woodgate, who regarded as the centre-piece of any future success he had planned for Leeds, and who he had been assured would not be allowed to leave.

He hinted he would resign as a matter of principle, but announced he would stay as he sat stone-faced alongside Peter Ridsdale at a news conference.

It was the most fragile of truces, and in a month he was gone.

Venables has had his critics, but in reality it was a hopeless cause.

PETER REID
Lame duck number two.

If Venables never had a chance, Reid had even less.

It all started well when he inspired a late-season revival that ensured safety with a stunning win at Arsenal that handed the title to Manchester United.

But after Harry Kewell left in bitter circumstances, Reid was forced to build a team around untried foreign imports and loan signings.

It proved disastrous for Reid, who was also humiliated by the Leeds board when they allowed talks about his future to almost become public property.

He was sacked in November with Leeds bottom of the league, but remained a popular figure with fans who accepted the virtual impossibility of his task.

EDDIE GRAY
Leeds legend and the man they always turn to in times of crisis - but never a crisis on the scale that confronted him in November 2003.

He has had his moments of joy, but in reality Leeds were set on course for the First Division by the time he took over.

Ridsdale took the blame as the front man for the board - but where were (indeed who) were his colleagues as it all went wrong?

Why did they not call a halt to the financial mismanagement? Why was O'Leary sacked after a season that was hardly a disaster?

These are the main culprits in this desperate saga.

The new regime under chairman Gerald Krasner has hardly covered itself in glory in a few short weeks.

The involvement of former Bradford chairman Geoffrey Richmond did not last long, but his son David remains as managing director.

However, there is already a talk of a takeover of the takeover, and the employment of an agent to investigate the possible sale of stars before their fate was sealed was a public relations disaster.

Just another misjudgement to add to the list.

Guilty of one thing alone. Total and blind loyalty in the face of intolerable cruelty inflicted by their club.

They are magnificent supporters who do not deserve the fate that has been sealed with relegations.

Leeds depart the Premiership with few worthwhile assets - but their steadfast supporters are probably the most valuable of the lot.