Peter Ridsdale has hit out at Leeds United chairman Ken Bates.
Bates has blamed Ridsdale for Leeds' financial meltdown.
Ridsdale, who went on to be chairman of Cardiff and is now acting chairman of Plymouth, told the Soccerex conference in Manchester: "It's a useful excuse but one that ought to be examined more carefully.
"Leeds went into administration four years after I left and I do not believe it was anything substantial to do with my tenure at Leeds United.
"Everyone seems to forget that I left in 2003 and there were three other chairmen before Ken Bates took over in 2005, and they never get mentioned.
"The suggestion that he inherited a mess and that it was all my fault appears almost more regularly in the club programme than the residents of Leeds."