By Dave Walmsley BBC Sport Online

In his office at Elland Road, there hangs a Leeds United shirt with Peter Ridsdale's name on the back.

Similar items are unlikely to have been big sellers in the club shop on Friday as shareholders arrived at the ground for a tense Annual General Meeting.

Former retail clothing executive Ridsdale turned up braced for an almighty dressing-down from fans angered by the club's recent poor performance on and off the field.

But the chairman will not have been fazed by his reception at the podium.

Throughout his five years in charge, the lifelong Leeds fan has become well-versed in the art of crisis management.

Ridsdale accepted his dream job in 1997 after joining the board a decade earlier, when he was managing director of club sponsor, Burton's Top Man chain.

As someone who slept outside Elland Road to queue for a ticket for the 1965 FA Cup final, the 50-year-old's passion for his team has never been questioned.

But his attempts to tred the line between supporter and businessman have seen him attacked from both sides in turn.

City investors accused him of behaving too much like a fan when he sanctioned David O'Leary's spending sprees.

And his decision to sell Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Keane saw supporters dismiss him as putting finance ahead of football.

Ridsdale is well-rewarded for fielding the flak - in 2000-01 he was the highest paid club executive in the Premiership.