 Ardley as manager ofAFC Wimbledon in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neal Christopher Ardley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1972-09-01)1 September 1972 (age 52)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Epsom, Surrey, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right midfielder[1] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Woking (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wimbledon | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–2002 | Wimbledon | 245 | (18) |
| 2002–2005 | Watford | 111 | (7) |
| 2005–2006 | Cardiff City | 38 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Millwall | 21 | (0) |
| Total | 415 | (26) | |
| International career | |||
| 1993–1994 | England U21 | 10 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2018 | AFC Wimbledon | ||
| 2018–2021 | Notts County | ||
| 2021–2023 | Solihull Moors | ||
| 2023–2024 | York City | ||
| 2024– | Woking | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English professionalfootball manager and formerfootballer who played as aright midfielder. He is currently the manager ofWoking.
Ardley wascapped atUnder-21 level by England. He spent the majority of his playing career withWimbledon, making his debut for them on 20 April 1991 at the age of 18 in a 2–1 away win overAston Villa in theFootball League First Division. He went on to make over 100 appearances forWatford before having spells atCardiff City andMillwall.[3]
Ardley announced his retirement from professional football on 30 August 2007 after suffering a series of injuries. On the same day, Ardley announced that he would return to former clubCardiff City having been appointed manager of theCardiff City Youth Academy. He was the manager ofAFC Wimbledon from 10 October 2012 to 12 November 2018. He took over as manager of Notts County on 23 November 2018.He has been appointed as manager of Woking on 18 December 2024.
Ardley was born inEpsom, Surrey.[1] Signed by Wimbledon as a youngster, whilst atCarshalton Boys Sports College, he made his way through the youth set up until breaking into the first team. Ardley made eight league appearances forWimbledon in the1991–92 season, featuring more prominently in the1992–93 campaign, in which he played in 26 games and scored four goals in the inaugural season of thePremier League as the Dons finished 12th. Wimbledon finished 6th in the Premier League in1993–94, matching the record highest ranking achieved by the club during their first ever season in the top flight during1986–87. Ardley's contribution was more limited during this season, however, as he was selected to play in just 16 games. He scored just once in a 2–1 win overSheffield Wednesday on 15 January 1994. He was in and out of the side for nearly a decade afterwards, remaining with the Dons after their relegation at the end of1999–2000. Two more seasons followed as he unsuccessfully tried to help them regain their Premier League place, before he signed for Division One rivalsWatford on a free transfer on 9 August 2002.
By the time Ardley left the club in 2002 he had played a total of 245 league games for Wimbledon, scoring 18 goals. He was their longest serving player by the time of his departure. His best campaign was arguably the1996–97 season, where he missed just four league games, helped the Dons reach the semi-finals of both theFA Cup and theFootball League Cup, and oversaw an excellent season in the league where they were rarely out of the top five until having to settle for 8th place in the final table.[4]
Ardley played for the Hornets for three seasons, making appearances anFA Cup semi final in 2003 and aLeague Cup semi-final in 2005.
Ardley joinedCardiff City in March 2005, a day before the sacking of Watford managerRay Lewington. He scored his first and only goal for Cardiff againstLeicester City on 19 April 2005.[5]
Ardley joinedMillwall for the2006–07 season, his last professional season.
Ardley announced his retirement from professional football on 30 August 2007 after a series of injuries.[6] The same day he was appointed as manager of theCardiff City academy.[7] Ardley had started preparing for a manager's role at the early age of 24, when he took his first coaching badges before completing his training for the UEFA Pro coaching qualification in 2010. He impressed in the role by guiding several players through to the first-team squad, including highly rated pairJoe Ralls andTheo Wharton making the step-up. Ardley remained with the club for five years.
Ardley was appointed as manager ofFootball League Two sideAFC Wimbledon on 10 October 2012, with formerWatford teammateNeil Cox being named as assistant manager on the same day.[8] The final two man shortlist for the job was Ardley and former Wales internationalRob Page.[9]
On 2 December 2012, Ardley managed AFC Wimbledon in their first ever meeting withMK Dons, the football club formed via his former side Wimbledon'srelocation to Milton Keynes. An injury-time goal saw AFC Wimbledon lose 2–1.[10]
Ardley made additions to his squad during the January transfer window with Alan Bennett being the most notable. In March 2013, Ardley was nominated for Football League Two Manager of the Month following Wimbledon's unbeaten run. Despite this, Wimbledon were in 23rd place going into the last match of the season with onlyAldershot Town below them, however a 2–1 win at home to mid tableFleetwood Town saw Ardley lead Wimbledon to safety instead, sendingBarnet down. Remarkably, Wimbledon jumped 3 places and finished in 20th (53 points; -22 GD), despite having the worst goal difference in the league.[11]
For the start of his first full season in charge he added a number of new faces which included the likes ofCharlie Sheringham. The 2013–14 season started off very brightly for the Dons beatingWycombe Wanderers,Scunthorpe United, Fleetwood Town andBurton Albion in their first four home matches leaving AFC Wimbledon sat in a Play-Off position in September. Ardley saw his side slip further down the league in the coming months which included a run of one win in eight leading into the New Year, however it still saw the Dons in a remarkably more comfortable position then when Ardley first took charge. Once again, Wimbledon finished comfortably in 20th place (53 points; -8 GD), which could have been 16th place had it not been for fielding an ineligible player.[12]
Ardley strengthened his squad during June and into July with the signing of Matt Tubbs, Adebayo Akinfenwa and James Shea amongst others. AFC Wimbledon's first preseason friendly of 2014–15 was against Margate which saw Ardley come up against his predecessor Terry Brown. The match finished with a 3–0 defeat for Ardley's side.
As the season began, Ardley put faith in his summer signings withJames Shea replacing last season's number oneRoss Worner. AFC Wimbledon began the season brightly with a draw at home toShrewsbury Town which was succeeded by fine wins overLuton Town andSouthend United both of which came away from home. The club's first defeat in the league came after his side squandered a 1–0 lead at home toHartlepool United to lose 2–1.
Ardley also managed AFC Wimbledon to their first ever victory against MK Dons on 7 October 2014. They met for the third time in theFootball League Trophy with goals fromAde Azeez,Sean Rigg andAdebayo Akinfenwa securing a 3–2 win for the Dons. It would become the season of cup run after he led the club to the FA Cup third round after beating Wycombe Wanderers. The reward for reaching the Third Round for the first time in the newly formed club's history was a home game againstLiverpool, which the Dons lost 2–1. Ardley underwent hip surgery in March 2015, leavingNeil Cox in charge for the 1–1 draw withTranmere Rovers. Wimbledon finished in 15th place (58 points; -6 GD).[13]
The Dons steady progress over the previous 3 seasons was the base for an extremely successful 2015–16 season. Wimbledon finished in 7th place (75 points; +14 GD),[14] the final Play-off position, thanks to new signingLyle Taylor's 20 League goals. After Ardley had navigated the Dons through the Play-off Semi Finals againstAccrington Stanley, Ardley achieved his first managerial trophy by beatingPlymouth Argyle 2–0 in the League Two Play-off Final, promotingAFC Wimbledon toLeague One for the first time in its history.
The 2016–17 season had the Dons finish respectably in 15th place (57 points; -3 GD) in its first season inLeague One, in part toLyle Taylor andTom Elliott's 10 and 9 League goals respectively.[15]
The 2017–18 season saw Ardley unable to follow up and build on the previous season. The Dons disappointed and battled relegation all season but managed to stay up with an 18th-place finish (53 points; -11 GD), due toLyle Taylor's 14 League goals and a 7-game unbeaten run over April and May.[16]
Ardley managed an overhaul of the Dons first team throughout the 2018 summer, as a number of players left the club. The most high-profile wasLyle Taylor, who went on to be AFC Wimbledon's record Football League goal scorer with 44 goals, and the Dons' highest scorer during their Football League era with 55 goals in all competitions.[17] The 2018 summer also saw Ardley become the 3rd longest serving manager in English League football. Ardley had more than six years in charge of the Dons.[18]
The 2018–19 season saw the Dons carry on its unbeaten run with an opening day win away (1-0) atFleetwood Town and followed up with a home draw (0-0) againstCoventry City.[19] Ardley oversaw a 10-game unbeaten run thanks to an away win (2-1) againstPortsmouth in the First Round of theLeague Cup. This was the first time the Dons had made it to the Second Round since being back in English League football.[20] Following a run of 10 defeats in 12 Football League games, Ardley left AFC Wimbledon by mutual agreement on 12 November 2018.[21]
Ardley was appointed as manager of Notts County on 23 November 2018, assisted by Neil Cox, with whom he worked with atAFC Wimbledon.[22] On his arrival, Ardley said "that the chance to manage Notts County is one I couldn't let pass."[23] The2018–19 season ended in disappointment for Notts County and Ardley as it saw the club relegated to theNational League on the final day of the season for the first time in their history.[24]
County looked to bounce straight back to the Football League and win an immediate promotion in a season that was interrupted by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[25] In June 2020, it was decided that the Play-Offs would go ahead with County finding themselves in third place when the table was determined on a points-per-game basis.[26] County reached the final however were beaten 3–1 byHarrogate Town who were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history.[27] County also reached the semi-final of theFA Trophy, again falling to defeat to Harrogate Town in a delayed match that took place in September 2020.[28] Ardley was sacked on 24 March 2021 with the club 14 points behind the league leaders,Sutton United.[29]
On 14 June 2021, Ardley was appointed manager of National League sideSolihull Moors.[30] After an impressive October that saw his side get four wins and two draws from six matches, Ardley was awarded the league's Manager of the Month award with his goalkeeperRyan Boot getting the Player of the Month award, and the club conceding only one goal in these matches.[31] The 2021–22 campaign saw the second-highest finish in the club's history, as they finished third before losing toGrimsby Town in the play-off final. Following a mid-table finish in the 2022–23 season, Ardley left the club "by mutual consent" in June 2023.[32]
On 6 September 2023, Ardley was announced as the new manager ofYork City.[33] On 26 February 2024, he was sacked with the club sitting one point above the relegation zone.[34]
On 18 December 2024, Ardley was appointed the manager of National League side,Woking.[35]
Ardley lost only one in his first seventeen matches in charge of the club. The only loss coming from his former sideYork City.
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| AFC Wimbledon | 10 October 2012 | 12 November 2018 | 326 | 106 | 93 | 127 | 032.5 |
| Notts County | 23 November 2018 | 24 March 2021 | 107 | 46 | 29 | 32 | 043.0 |
| Solihull Moors | 14 June 2021 | 25 June 2023 | 104 | 47 | 28 | 29 | 045.2 |
| York City | 6 September 2023 | 26 February 2024 | 34 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 029.4 |
| Woking | 18 December 2024 | Present | 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 038.9 |
| Total | 589 | 216 | 173 | 200 | 036.7 | ||
AFC Wimbledon
Individual
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