Neal Ardley appointed as Minstermen’s new first team manager

York City FC have announced the appointment of vastly experienced Neal Ardley as the club’s new first team manager on a three-year deal.

The former player spent large parts of his playing days at Wimbledon, where he racked up over 200 appearances between 1991-2002, leaving as one of their longest serving players by the time of his departure.

A switch to Watford followed, where Ardley secured over a century of games at Division One level for the Hornets.

He also played for Cardiff City and Millwall shortly after his Watford stint, being capped at England U21 level numerous times too.

A career in management was soon upon Ardley, diving into Cardiff City’s academy as a manager following retirement in 2007.

AFC Wimbledon secured the services of their former player in October 2012 after a poor start, where the now 51-year-old spent over 300 games in charge between 2012 to 2018.

Ardley guided the Dons to League Two safety numerous times (including in his first season) before steady progress was met with promotion via the play-offs to League One in 2016.

Neal picked up two Manager of the Month awards during his time down south, securing League Two Manager of the Month in December 2014 and April 2016.

Ardley moved on to Notts County in 2018, where he managed just shy of 100 games across League Two and the National League. During his National League tenure, County put together a side looking to bounce back to the Football League, reaching the play-off final in 2020.

He also picked up numerous awards throughout his time at County too, picking up the Manager of the Month award in December 2019, January 2021 and October 2021.

Neal departed County with the side placed inside the National League play-offs and several games in hand, later joining Solihull Moors in the summer of 2021.

After an impressive October in his inaugural season with the Moors where Solihull picked up four wins and two draws from six, whilst only conceding one, Ardley picked up the league’s Manager of the Month award.

The campaign saw Solihull Moors complete their second-highest finish in the club’s history as they finished third, falling just short in the play-off final to then former League Two side Grimsby Town.

Ardley managed just shy of a hundred games for the West Midlands-based side before departing in this summer by mutual consent.

Welcome to the Minstermen, Neal!