Philip Christopher Bolland (born 26 August 1976) is an English former footballer, who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

Career

Bolland enjoyed two spells at Chester City, having signed from

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

in the summer of 2006 – just a few months after he'd moved in the opposite direction. Mark Wright has managed him at the four clubs he has been in charge of, namely

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Chester and

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. Bolland had earlier played in non-league football for clubs including

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

, Salford City,

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

and Knowsley United. Bolland struggled to stake a place in the first-team side at Chester under new manager

Bobby Williamson Robert Williamson (born 13 August 1961 in Glasgow) is a Scottish football player and manager. Williamson played as a striker for Clydebank, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Rotherham United and Kilmarnock. He then became a manager at Kilmarno ...

in 2007–08, making just three appearances. He spent time on trial with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

and it was announced in December 2007 he was no longer part of Chester's plans. On 8 January 2008 it was announced Bolland had been released by Chester and he quickly agreed terms with Wrexham. He was released by Wrexham in May 2008 following the club's relegation to the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

and signed for

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

on 31 July 2008 where he would be reunited with former teammates

Gary Brabin Gary Brabin (born 9 December 1970) is an English former professional footballer, coach and manager who is the Sporting Director at Cymru Premier team The New Saints. A midfielder with a 12-year career in the English Football League, he repres ...

and

Paul Carden Paul Andrew Carden (born 29 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and coach, who is currently manager of Nantwich Town. While playing at Cambridge United, Carden was also the club's assistant manager. He previously played fo ...

, manager and assistant manager of the Conference side. He spent one season at Cambridge, before signing for

Barrow AFC Barrow Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club plays in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English league system. Since 1909, Barrow have played their home games at H ...

, also of the Conference National. Bolland won the FA Trophy with Barrow in the 2009–10 season. In May 2011 he was offered a new contract by Barrow and became the club captain. He had a full further season at Barrow, but was released at the end of the 2011–12 season, having played over 100 league matches for the club. He then joined

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

. In January 2013, it was announced that Bolland had joined

Airbus UK Airbus UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus which produces wings for Airbus aircraft. When Airbus was incorporated as a joint-stock company in 2001, BAE Systems transferred its UK Airbus facilities in return for a 20% share of the new comp ...

. After helping Airbus qualify for the Europa League in his final two seasons, Bolland announced he was retiring from playing to concentrate on his physiotherapy career with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Honours

Chester City *

champions: 2003–04 Southport * FA Trophy runners-up: 1997–98 Barrow AFC *FA Trophy winners: 2009–10

References

External links

*
Profile
a
UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database
*Player profile at the Welsh Premier League's official websit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolland, Phil 1976 births Living people English footballers Footballers from Liverpool Association football defenders Southport F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Barrow A.F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players FC Halifax Town players Knowsley United F.C. players Airbus UK Broughton F.C. players Trafford F.C. players Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff