Stuart Boardley (born 14 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer. He played professionally for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

and is currently manager of Felixstowe & Walton United.

Personal life

Boardley was born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and is the younger brother of the four time

Hot Rods (oval racing) Hot Rods refers to a number of United Kingdom, British oval racing formula (not to be confused with hot rods, which are generally road-going modified vintage cars). Hot Rod racing was introduced at Hednesford Hills Raceway in the early 1960s as a Br ...

World Champion Carl Boardley. Boardley attended Northgate High School in Ipswich and left school with GCSEs and A-Levels to pursue a career in football. He recently married his childhood sweetheart Gemma Smith.

Playing career

Boardley, a midfielder, began his career as a trainee with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

. His traineeship was extended due to injuries received in a car crash, but he was released in May 2004 without playing in the first team. Leroy Rosenior took him to

in August 2004 and he signed a contract the following month. He made his Torquay debut on 28 September in the 4–3 win at home to

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

. and shortly afterwards signed a contract. His league debut came on 2 October, in a 1–1 draw away to

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

. He played many more times in the league for Torquay, and once in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

(a 2–0 defeat away to non-league Hinckley United), before being released in May 2005 following Torquay's relegation. In the 2005 close-season he joined non-League side

Long Melford Long Melford, colloquially and historically also referred to as Melford, is a large village and civil parish in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is on Suffolk's border with Essex, which is marked by the River Stour ...

, but chose to leave in November 2005, moving to

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

, managed by former

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

player

Jason Dozzell Jason Irvin Winans Dozzell (born 9 December 1967) is an English football manager and former professional Association football, footballer. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich ...

, later the same month. In June 2007, a fee was agreed which saw Boardley move to

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

promotion chasers

AFC Sudbury Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury is a association football, football club based in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. The club was formed in 1999 by the merger of Sudbury Town F.C., Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers F.C., Sudbury Wanderers, the proc ...

. Following the managerial resignation of Mark Morsley he rejoined Leiston for a second spell in June 2008. In October 2008, Boardley scored twice as Leiston beat

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

side

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the

, ensuring a place in the First Round proper for Leiston for the first time in their history. At that time he was reported to be working as a

quantity surveyor In the construction industry, a quantity surveyor (QS) is a professional with expert knowledge of construction costs and contracting. Qualified professional quantity surveyors can be known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) i ...

for Brooks and Wood Ltd. He joined Felixstowe & Walton United in 2017.

Managerial career

In October 2018 Boardley announced his retirement from playing football. Later in the same week he was appointed manager of

, having previously been assistant to Richard Wilkins at the club during his second playing spell at the club. He left Leiston in September 2019, and was appointed manager of Felixstowe & Walton United in October.Former Leiston boss takes over at Felixstowe & Walton as the new manager
East Anglian Daily Times, 6 October 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boardley, Stuart 1985 births Living people Footballers from Ipswich English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Ipswich Town F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Long Melford F.C. players Leiston F.C. players A.F.C. Sudbury players Felixstowe & Walton United F.C. players English football managers Leiston F.C. managers Felixstowe & Walton United F.C. managers English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen