Neal Ardley

Neal Ardley

Ardley managing AFC Wimbledon in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Neal Christopher Ardley
Date of birth	(1972-09-01) 1 September 1972 (age 44)
Place of birth	Epsom, Surrey, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	AFC Wimbledon (manager)
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)
National team
1993–1994	England U21	10	(0)
Teams managed
2012–	AFC Wimbledon
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Neal Christopher Ardley (born 1 September 1972) is an English former professional footballer who played as either a right-back or right midfielder. He is currently the manager of AFC Wimbledon, a position he has held since 10 October 2012. He was capped at Under-21 level by England. Ardley spent the majority of his career with Wimbledon, making his debut for them on 20 April 1991 at the age of 18 in a 2–1 away win over Aston Villa in the Football League First Division. He went on to make over 100 appearances for Watford before having spells at Cardiff City and Millwall.

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 club Cardiff City having been appointed manager of the Cardiff City Youth Academy.

Ardley was born in Epsom. Signed by Wimbledon as a youngster, whilst at Ashburton Community School, he made his way through the youth set up until breaking into the first team. Ardley made eight league appearances for Wimbledon in the 1991–92 season, featuring more prominently in the 1992–93 campaign, in which he played in 26 games and scored four goals in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League as the Dons finished 12th. Wimbledon finished 6th in the FA Premier League in 1993–94, matching the record highest ranking achieved by the club during their first ever season in the top flight during 1986–87. 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 over Sheffield 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 of 1999–2000. Two more seasons followed as he unsuccessfully tried to help them regain their Premier League place, before he signed for Division One rivals Watford on a free transfer on 9 August 2002.