He spent the majority of his playing 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.
[1] Signed by Wimbledon as a youngster, whilst at Carshalton Boys Sports College, he made his way through the youth set up until breaking into the first team.
Wimbledon finished 6th in the 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.
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.
He impressed in the role by guiding several players through to the first-team squad, including highly rated pair Joe Ralls and Theo Wharton making the step-up.
The 2013–14 season started off very brightly for the Dons beating Wycombe Wanderers, Scunthorpe United, Fleetwood Town and Burton Albion in their first four home matches leaving AFC Wimbledon sat in a Play-Off position in September.
They met for the third time in the Football League Trophy with goals from Ade Azeez, Sean Rigg and Adebayo Akinfenwa securing a 3–2 win for the Dons.
The reward for reaching the Third Round for the first time in the newly formed club's history was a home game against Liverpool, which the Dons lost 2–1.
Ardley underwent hip surgery in March 2015, leaving Neil Cox in charge for the 1–1 draw with Tranmere Rovers.
Wimbledon finished in 7th place (75 points; +14 GD),[14] the final Play-off position, thanks to new signing Lyle Taylor's 20 League goals.
The Dons disappointed and battled relegation all season but managed to stay up with an 18th-place finish (53 points; -11 GD), due to Lyle Taylor's 14 League goals and a 7-game unbeaten run over April and May.
[18] The 2018–19 season saw the Dons carry on its unbeaten run with an opening day win away (1-0) at Fleetwood Town and followed up with a home draw (0-0) against Coventry City.
[20] Following a run of 10 defeats in 12 Football League games, Ardley left AFC Wimbledon by mutual agreement on 12 November 2018.
[21] Ardley was appointed as manager of Notts County on 23 November 2018, assisted by Neil Cox, with whom he worked with at AFC Wimbledon.
[24] County looked to bounce straight back to the Football League and win an immediate promotion in a season that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
[27] County also reached the semi-final of the FA Trophy, again falling to defeat to Harrogate Town in a delayed match that took place in September 2020.