Woking Appoints Neal Ardley as New Manager

Woking Football Club has announced Neal Ardley, previously manager of AFC Wimbledon and Notts County, as its new manager. Ardley notably guided both Notts County and Solihull Moors to a National League play-off final. The 52-year-old succeeds Michael Doyle, who was dismissed on Sunday. At the time of Doyle’s departure, Woking, known as the Cards, was positioned 19th in the National League standings. Doyle, a former midfielder for Coventry and Sheffield United, had taken on the managerial role in December 2023 and contributed to the club’s 17th-place finish last season. However, Woking has secured only five league victories this season and has not won in their last four matches. Doyle’s final game as manager was a decisive 4-0 defeat away to Gateshead on Saturday. Ardley had been unemployed since February, when he was dismissed from his role as manager of York City after 34 games. Jody Brown, the club’s director of football, commented on the appointment on Woking’s website, stating: “The diversity of his journey illustrates his flexibility, his promotions and play-off achievements tell us that he can take us to where we hope to be one day. His battles with relegation and team rebuilding processes are all invaluable experiences that he’ll have learned from. Neal has the values we want in our head coach.” As a player for Wimbledon FC, Ardley netted 26 goals across 301 appearances before the club relocated to Milton Keynes and became MK Dons. During his 16-year playing career, the former midfielder also played for Watford, Cardiff City, and Millwall. Assuming the managerial position at AFC Wimbledon in 2012, Ardley successfully guided the club to League Two safety on the last day of his inaugural season and later achieved promotion to League One in the 2015-16 season. His managerial career also included periods at Notts County and Solihull Moors, where he guided both teams to a National League promotion final, though they were unsuccessful in securing promotion in either instance. Concurrently, Woking is undergoing a takeover process by a consortium headed by Todd Johnson, previously the vice chairman of Dagenham & Redbridge.