Bradford City Born in
Bradford,
West Yorkshire, Bolland started his career with his home town team of
Bradford City at the start of the
1997–98 season after progressing through the club's youth setup. His first manager was
Chris Kamara, before playing under
Paul Jewell. He found his time at
Valley Parade a hard one, and found it difficult to break into the first team setup, and he eventually left the club in April 1999 after the club had secured promotion to the
Premier League for the first time in their history.
Notts County After struggling to break into the first team at Bradford, Bolland signed for
Notts County, initially on loan, and then permanently for £75,000. Bolland was unexpectedly not given a contract extension by Notts County at the end of the
2004–05 season, prompting him to join
Grimsby Town.
Grimsby Town Bolland became one of the first new signings for
Russell Slade at
Grimsby Town for the 2005–06 season. He slotted into his familiar central midfield role, alongside fellow new signings
Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala and
Ciaran Toner. Bolland was part of the Town side that defeated
Tottenham Hotspur in the
League Cup that same season, and The Mariners went on to finally lose out in the League Two Play Off Final. Paul kept his regular role in the 2006–07 season, briefly captaining the side on several occasions under short lived manager
Graham Rodger and his replacement
Alan Buckley. On 15 September 2007, he made his 100th appearance for Grimsby, and later on in the same season, he scored one of his most notable goals which came in the
Football League Trophy semi-final first leg against
Morecambe in a 1–0 win at
Christie Park. In the second leg at
Blundell Park, Grimsby defended for their lives as they earned a 0–0 draw. After the final whistle Bolland was mobbed by fans as he had played a major part in enabling the Mariners to play at
Wembley Stadium for the third time in their history. In the final, Grimsby Town played
Milton Keynes Dons, at
Wembley Stadium, where they lost 2–0. Bolland spent the entire 2008–09 season out injured, after picking up an injury in the latter stages of the previous season. Bolland was released by Grimsby in the summer of 2009, with new manager
Mike Newell admitting he wanted to give Bolland a chance to prove himself in pre-season, but Bolland decided to leave the club, settling up his contract with one month remaining. On 18 June Bolland was linked with
Chester City Macclesfield Town Bolland signed for
Macclesfield Town on 29 June 2009. He was released by the club, along with 10 other players at the end of the 2009–10 season. He played 36 times for the club, scoring 1 goal. Bolland was released by the club in May 2013. ==Coaching career==