Neal Ardley

The procedure to appoint a new manager for AFC Wimbledon was thorough; apparently there were more than 40 serious applicants and these were filtered down to a final three. Eventually the decision was made to appoint Neal Ardley.

Neal Ardley is coming home is the general feeling, I watched him as a youth team player at Wimbledon FC, he graduated to the first team in 1991-92, he player for the club in the Premiership years, he was there when we got relegated at Southampton in May 2000. He stayed with the club and was part of the last Wimbledon team, by which time I suspect he was the club's longest serving player.

He later moved to Watford, Cardiff and Millwall, before becoming head of the youth academy at Cardiff City. However I suspect that as a player he will be best remembered as a Wimbledon player.

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of attending a fundraising dinner where Neal spoke along with Terry Burton (now Under 21 manager at Arsenal) . He spoke about how he felt the night of the relegation at Southampton. He shared stories of how the Club that we all loved disintergrated. Later that evening he signed my Wimbledon shirt which had "Ardley 18" on the back. For some time now it's been framed and hangs in the room where I'm typing this blog.

His return to become the manager of AFC Wimbledon seems right, he knows the culture of the Club, he knows the history but also he has the coaching qualifications, the desire to develop youth players and the contacts in the game to be a success at the Dons.

Football Management is a precarious business, and uyltimately 99% of managers get the sack, but I desperately hope Neal's succeeds not only because it would mean that AFC Wimbledon progress but also because this story deserves a happy ending.

Tomorrow Neal takes charge of his first game away at Fleetwood. Last week he stood by and watched as a team selected by caretaker manager Simon Bassey  lost 2-1 to Cheltenham. Not the easiest game to start with, but I'm sure he is under no illusions. If the team had been playing well, the previous manager would still be here. Changes will take time, so all I can offer is good luck to both Neal , his coaching staff and the team tomorrow. Bring home the points.