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Tales from the National League: The Crazy Gang might be from another era, but team spirit remains the key for Neal Ardley at Woking
Any player associated with Wimbledon in the late eighties and early nineties is almost immediately labelled as part of the ‘Crazy Gang’ period at the club. The heyday for the South London side was full of big characters, big stories and, most importantly, big results on the pitch.
Three decades on football is a different beast, and for Neal Ardley, a man who made his professional debut at the height of Don’s peak days, he’s the first to admit that now, as manager of National League side Woking, things have moved on in the beautiful game.
“There are stories that can't be repeated, I'm afraid,” Ardley says with a smirk as DAZN News asks him about his introduction as a player.
“But yeah, it’s weird because I'm from a different era than the modern day, and I think we've gone through a couple of generations since I was that age.
“Back then, there were things you could get away with; it was sink or swim. I remember going up to train with the first team at the age of 18 as a youth team player in the squad.
“And, you know, not they bullied me, but they almost challenged me to prove that I was good enough to train with them. It was tough, and you couldn't sort of do it nowadays.”
Learning lessons
Then, the midfielder was a familiar face for Premier League sticker collectors of the time and would go on to spend a decade with Wimbledon before serving Watford, Cardiff and Millwall as a player before moving into coaching with Cardiff City's Academy, spending six years mentoring the Bluebird’s young stars. And for Ardley, he was never in doubt that coaching was his next move when he hung up his boots.
“I always wanted to be a coach, and I thought Cardiff was the perfect opportunity for me to cut my teeth. In those six years, we did loads right. I look back at what me and my staff built as far as a new building for the Academy, a philosophy for the Academy, loads of protocols that took us on and made us very good.
"But I also looked at what I had done wrong in the training field, sessions, team talks, and tactics. That was all part of my learning curve. Luckily, the young players probably didn't realise I was getting it wrong. But I learned a lot there.”
He then took those lessons and moved into his first management job, one that pulled at the heartstrings too, as Wimbledon (now a newly established South London club following the former side franchising into MK Dons) came calling.
Not that getting the job was easy. Ardley admits to a gruelling interview process, where future Wales boss Rob Page was one of the names he was up against, but it could have been that extra emotive tie that helped him land his first full-time post.
During his six years in charge, he helped the club win promotion via the Play-offs in 2017, marking the first time AFC Wimbledon appeared in League One before his management career took him down the route of the National League.
Woking FC
The Woking welcome
After spells at Notts County, Solihull Moors – where he took the club to the Play-off Final – and York City, Ardley was appointed Woking manager in December. So, what attracted Ardley to take over the reins at the Surrey club?
“For me, when I met Jodie (Brown) and we talked it through, the fact that Jodie had just arrived at the club as director of football, and the new owner, Tom Johnson, had just arrived and was trying to sort out some of the stuff that had gone on before - clear the decks.
“He'd worked at Dagenham before and he'd worked at Wealdstone before, so he knows the level, he knows what happens at these leagues.
“That was quite nice, knowing that you're coming in at the same time as them, and I think they explained to me that none of what we're taking on is perfect.
“There are lots of issues that we're going to face in the next six months, and we've got to do lots to try and, you know, piece it together, clear the decks, and get it going in the right direction.
“But joining in at the same time, knowing that we've all got to fight through those battles to get there, is quite a pleasing feeling."
- Read next I Tales from the National League: Phil Brown reliving his happiest Hull days as boss of Kidderminster Harriers
Woking FC
Smells like team spirit
The new management and ownership team have gotten off to the ideal start, too, with Woking undefeated in Ardley’s first eight games in charge. And, as someone who was born into a club that personified team spirit with the Crazy Gang, the new boss is high on adapting a 2025 version of team spirit to his Woking troops as he looks for success.
“I try and work on it, yeah. When I do the culture and the leadership, what you want is, you want it to be player-led,” Ardley finishes by explaining.
“Nowadays, it's bottom-up. The autocratic way of top-down doesn't work. Nowadays, it's bottom-up. So, you're trying to make the players part of the process, setting the culture, setting the environment. You want it to be a place.
“I’ve always, everywhere I've gone, wanted people to want to come to work, and you're always going to get players disappointed because you only pick 11 out of 18 or 22 or whatever it is.
“But you still want them to come to work knowing that you're going to still work on their game, develop them, talk to them the right way, give them information, and be honest with them. And that's what we try to do.
“I think the players have enjoyed that and responded to that, and they're looking forward to the games, which is a big part of football.
“They've impressed me with how quickly they've taken on the information I've tried to give them in a short space of time and apply it, and the team spirit and the attitude of the players has been really refreshing.”
Ardley’s modern-day culture fuelling a team spirit laid down by an era of the past. It’s almost like John Motson’s famous 1988 FA Cup Final commentary line has come beautifully full circle.
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