A former Conference winner and qualified physio who joined United in the summer, Phil Bolland has been almost ever-present at the heart of the U's defence this season.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Phil spent most of his formative years in the Old Swan area of the city and latterly Rainhill on Merseyside, although he spent 18 months in Egypt between the ages of 8-10 when his family were relocated there due to his father's work.
He attended an American school there and counts it as a great experience, and when they returned to England he got more involved with local football, following the example of his father and uncles who played at a good non-league level.
The 32-year-old is one of the dressing room's resident Scousers and he is a proud Liverpool supporter who first watched on the Kop from someone's shoulders at the age of six.
"I used to see a lot of the games with my Dad or one of my uncles, but the last time I had a season ticket we were up near the top so that shows you how long ago it was!" he smiles. "There are a few Reds and Blues among the lads so we have a bit of banter about that, especially with all the derby games at the moment."
On Everton's books as a schoolboy, Phil wanted to continue his education beyond the age of 16 so he turned down Everton to join Preston North End instead, where it was possible for him to combine a two-year YTS with studying for his A-levels.
By the end of his exams he was training with the first team and was offered a professional contract, but again he chose to continue his education, as he explains: "I was offered the chance to do a physio degree at Manchester Uni so, after chatting to my Dad and Mum and knowing how football is, I thought it might be the best thing to do for my career, as well as a life experience too."
Phil played for local non-league clubs like Altrincham, Southport and Knowsley United as well as studying for his degree, and after graduating he worked for a year in the physio department of the Royal Hospital in Liverpool. Then came the move into professional football when he was signed by his former Southport manager Mark Wright for his new club, tonight's opponents Oxford United.
"It was good to get my degree and some work experience under my belt before going into football," he says, and echoes the words of fellow graduate Anthony Tonkin when he adds, "Most people do it the other way around, but I've been able to enjoy my football knowing I've got something to fall back on and not really worry about it.
"I've been able to keep my hand in while I've been playing football by doing little bits of physio during the summer, and although I sometimes wonder what might have happened if I'd have gone full-time earlier, I just feel lucky that I've been able to play full-time football.
"There are hundreds of players going out of football each summer and looking for other work, so I'm lucky that I've already been in a work environment and got that experience and my degree, and - like Tonks said - you can just go out and enjoy your football knowing that you have something to fall back on."
The move to Oxford came in the summer of 2001 and he admits he was delighted to have the opportunity to go into full-time football at the age of 24, but after 20 Football League appearances a change of manager at Oxford saw him join Chester City for £15,000, where his manager was again Mark Wright.
He spent four years at Chester and played alongside Gary Brabin and Paul Carden for some of that time: "When I first went there Cardy was there and I was playing centre-back with Gary Brabin. Then when I went to Peterborough Cardy was there too, so it looks like I've followed him around!
"But it means it was an easy transition coming to Cambridge because I knew so many of the lads here," he adds. "I played with Wayne Hatswell and Mark Beesley at Chester too so it was easy to fit in here."
Part of the Chester side that won the Conference in 2004, and captain towards the end of his time there, Bolly was signed by Mark Wright for a third time when he joined Peterborough United in January 2006. But it was a strange and short-lived move because Wright left a few days later and Steve Bleasdale was appointed for an infamous spell that was recorded for the "Big Ron Manager" TV documentary.
Ron Atkinson was brought in by Barry Fry to advise the new manager and it resulted in a TV show that was compulsive viewing but a bad experience for many of those featured.
Bolly was a member of the Posh squad that also included Paul Carden and Danny Crow and he feels strongly that it was a mistake to allow TV cameras into the club: "It was a farce from day one and an unfortunate situation for Steve Bleasdale. The club had to do the documentary for the money, but it painted the club and a lot of the people who were there in a bad light and it's affected them since.
"It wasn't fair on anyone - Steve Bleasdale is a good, hard-working man - but obviously in those programmes you only see what they decide is good viewing, and you don't see all the hard work that goes on every day.
"It painted quite a few of the players in a poor light too and it could have affected their careers because it showed stuff that wasn't 100% true - Danny Crow wasn't portrayed in a fair way, for one. He's a good player and a good lad but people that didn't know him might think different after seeing that. It was easy for Sky cameras to come in and leave again, but they were messing with people's careers."
Phil was only at Peterborough until the end of the season and he returned to Chester in June 2006, but it was another short-lived move because new manager Bobby Williamson wanted to bring in his own players and last January he joined relegation-threatened Wrexham on a free transfer.
"Not many players go from Chester to Wrexham because there's quite a big rivalry between the two clubs, but I really enjoyed the chance to be playing regularly and to be so close to home," he says. "The set-up and the fans and the lads were all great, and it's a shame we were relegated. They were rock bottom when I joined but we gave it a good go and I really enjoyed it apart from the end result.
"When teams get relegated players just have to move on," he adds. "The manager wanted to bring some younger players on, and judging by what we experienced there last week the club seems to have sorted itself out and they've got a good team on their hands again.
"I think they'd planned for it a bit and they were lucky to have some money behind them, so it hasn't been dire straits for them and they've coped quite well with relegation."
Out of contract during last summer, Phil admits it was a big decision to join a club in the south when his family home is established on Merseyside and he has a young son and a baby on the way, but he has no regrets about joining the U's.
"The manager and Cardy told me what a good club it was and they asked me to come down and have a look at the set-up, and when I did I didn't see why I couldn't make it work. I signed a short-term deal, which is still going, and I'm enjoying it here with a good group of lads and things are going well."
Phil shares a house in Landbeach with Mark Beesley, Anthony Tonkin and Mark Convery and travels north to his family home as often as possible. He admits that the travelling is wearing but counts himself fortunate to be playing football for a living: "When you think that people are getting up for work at six in the morning and not getting home 'til six at night then you realise you're lucky to be doing what you are and it puts it into perspective.
"I miss my wife and kids, but I'm only away for a few nights a week and we have a good family around us to help out so it's working at the moment. Obviously with my wife expecting it will get harder for her to manage with an 18-month-old boy, but she's doing great and I don't get any pressure from her; she's just happy that I'm playing football and enjoying it, and we're not planning too far ahead."
Although he is playing on a week-to-week deal, Phil says there is no pressure from either side to change an arrangement that he feels is working well for both parties.
"We're doing OK, although we should be doing better, and we get good crowds here at the Abbey so it's a good stage to be playing on," he says. "I'm hoping to help Cambridge push on into the play-offs, and taking it week by week.
"The manager seems to be happy with me at the moment and I won't do anything to let him down. He's said in an interview that Cambridge United needs me as much as I need Cambridge United so neither side is holding the other to ransom and I'm just happy to be playing."
Having worked in a hospital, Phil would prefer to set up his own sports physio practice when he eventually finishes playing and reveals that he has no plans to work in professional football.
"I've been looking at setting up some sort of private practice and working towards the extra certificates you need to do that, so when the time does finally come to stop playing I can move towards that.
"Ideally I'd like to gradually combine the two, but you never know what's going to happen in football so it's hard to plan ahead and I'll just take it as it comes."
However, as the father of 18-month-old Sammy and with wife Angela expecting their second child in three months, Phil thinks it is unlikely he will pursue a career in football when he stops playing:
"You have to ask yourself when you finish playing football whether you want to continue in the game. Being a football club physio, as Greg would tell you, is sometimes seven days a week and I don't want to miss out on my kids because when you do play football you do miss out on time with them."
Having played alongside Gary Brabin earlier in their careers, how does that affect their current relationship as manager and player?
"It's good in one way because you know the person's character and you know what to expect," he says. "In another way, it sometimes puts a little bit more pressure on you because you don't want to let the man down and you want to see him succeed. So it's a bit strange and it takes some getting used to, and now he's a manager you don't have that same friend relationship that you had before.
"You have to do what he says and accept it and keep a little distance between you because he's your boss, and you have to set that example to everyone else as well. It's going OK, but it would be better if we got promoted," he adds with a laugh.
"We've got some great players at the club, and some good young ones too like Josh Coulson. He can definitely excel at this level and I don't see why he can't push on and have a good career at a much higher level. There are others too - Robbie Willmott, Chris Holroyd - there's a lot of potential there and if they carry on being as dedicated as they are at the moment I don't see why they can't push on and do very well for themselves and the club."
With United poised just outside the play-off places and due to play several of the other play-off chasing clubs in the coming weeks, Phil feels the outcome of this season is firmly in our own hands.
"The squad may be a bit thin on the ground at the moment, but when you look at each position I don't see many teams with better players than us," he says. "We haven't been as consistent as we should but if we get that we can definitely cement a place in the play-offs.
"I've known teams in the Conference throw away leads like Burton have at present, and you just have to be consistent and be ready to take over if it happens. Hopefully we're over the worst of the injuries now and consistency will come from winning games and gaining confidence from that.
"We need to score more goals too, and we can't put all the pressure on one player so we have to spread them around the team. If we can do that we'll win more than we lose or draw and hopefully we can start tonight. Oxford have a good squad and they've been doing well under their new manager, so it should be a good game."
Let's hope that good run of form commences this evening…
Andrea Thrussell
web@cambridge-united.co.uk
*An edited version of this interview was published in the programme for the match against Oxford United on Thursday 29th January 2009.
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