Terry Semel has become such a byword for failed management in the Valley that it's easy to forget: the former Hollywood studio boss, who came into Yahoo during the company's darkest days, presided over the company's recovery. He took an internet job after the collapse of tech stocks, and rode the internet advertising market back up. From 2003 to 2005, when the stock broke through $40 (see chart), Semel looked like the man with a golden touch or, at the very least, impeccable timing. The problem? He was always judged by Yahoo's relative performance, against Google, not its absolute share price. And, by that standard, it was almost impossible for him to succeed. When Yahoo's stock, from the end of 2005, tracked down, all the doubts about Semel's internet acumen rose to the surface. The conventional wisdom shifted and, with Semel no longer in a position to take credit for any recovery by Yahoo, that's likely to be the final verdict. [For the enlarged chart, click here] .

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