Boardman started his career as a junior at Crystal Palace but never made an appearance for the first team . He then had loan spells at Woking and Margate before making a permanent move to Woking in the summer of 2002 . Woking fans were extremely disappointed when he chose to leave the Conference side on the same day as fellow central defender Luke Oliver , Boardman is said to be a great reader of the game and commanding in the air so Rochdale manager Steve Parkin was delighted to capture the defender in May 2005 on a two year contract .
