Date / Year of birth: 18th July 1964

Position: Midfielder

Season of first appearance: 1992/93

Season of last appearance: 1997/98

Also played for: Gillingham (32+4,2), Wimbledon (8,0), Koparit (Finland), Crewe Alexandra (9,0), Maidstone United, Welling United, Sittingbourne, Erith & Belvedere and Gravesend & Northfleet

5' 6" tall midfielder born in Chatham who started his career as an apprentice at Gillingham, joining the club in June 1980 after leaving school. In July 1982 Phil signed professional forms for the Gills and he went on to score twice in 36 first team appearances (four as sub) during the 1982/83 and 1983/84 seasons before joining Wimbledon in August 1984.

Phil made his debut for the Wombles in a 1-0 win over Portsmouth in a League Cup tie on 4.9.84 and made seven more senior appearances before the end of the 1984/85 campaign.

In the summer of 1985 he had a loan spell with Koparit in Finland and Phil made 16 league appearances there (two as sub) without scoring before returning to Plough Lane.

He couldn't break into the Wimbledon side during the 1985/86 season and in January 1986 Phil was loaned to Crewe where he played nine games without scoring. He was released by Wimbledon in the summer of 1986.

Phil joined Conference club Maidstone for the 1986/87 campaign and scored the only goal of the game on his home debut as the Stones beat Wealdstone 1-0 on 20.8.86.

In the summer of 1987 Phil was sold to Welling for £2,000 and he spent four years with the Wings. In November 1989 he was sent off after only five minutes of an FA Cup tie against Bromley and Phil became Welling's player-coach for the 1990/91 season. He worked as a vision technician during his time at Park View Road.

In the summer of 1991 Sittingbourne paid Welling a huge fee of £15,000 for Phil's services and he became the Brickies player-coach. He was released by Sittingbourne at the end of December 1992 and joined Erith & Belvedere where he scored once in five appearances before signing for Margate in March 1993.

Phil made his debut in a 2-0 win over Gravesend & Northfleet at Hartsdown Park on 13.3.93 and from then on he was ever-present in Margate's midfield until the end of the season. The Thanet Times said he was a "dynamic terrier" during a 2-1 win at Witney on 20.3.93 and noted that Phil "took the eye" in a 1-0 triumph at Braintree on 3.4.93. He finished 1992/93 having made nine appearances without scoring.

Phil became Margate's captain for the 1993/94 campaign and had an excellent season in midfield. The Isle of Thanet Gazette said he was "outstanding" in a 3-2 win over Ashford on 30.8.93 and the Thanet Times was full of praise for Phil after a 6-0 home win over Pagham in the FA Cup on 11.9.93. The paper said "although bearing a striking resemblance to an eager schoolboy who has been allowed to play with the prefects, Handford is a vital component of this Margate side. His tackling is swift, his running non-stop and his passing the spark which ignites the midfield. With him in the side there is no way Margate will go down without a fight". The paper reported that he "beavered away diligently throughout" a 3-0 win at Bromley in an FA Cup tie on 25.9.93 and Phil was ever-present for Margate's first 41 games before missing eight matches through injury in March and April 1994. Shortly before his lay-off on 8.3.94 he'd had the honour of captaining a Southern League X1 in a centenary challenge match against Millwall at Ashford. Phil returned to the Margate side for a 6-0 thrashing of Braintree at Hartsdown on 24.4.94 and on 2.5.94 he captained the team that beat Dover 2-1 at his old club Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium to win the Kent Senior Cup. Dover's Tony Dixon, a future Margate player, was bizarrely booked during the game for pulling off Phil's trademark headband. He finished the season having made 45 appearances without scoring.

Phil kept the Margate captaincy for the 1994/95 campaign and the Isle of Thanet Gazette reported that he "covered a great deal of ground in midfield" in a 1-0 defeat at Braintree on 29.8.94 and "emerged as the lynch-pin" in a 2-0 home win over Merstham in an FA Cup tie on 10.9.94. On 27.9.94 Phil broke his nose during a 5-3 win at Peacehaven and Telscombe in the next round of the FA Cup but stayed on and played in Margate's next game too. The Thanet Times said that he was "dynamic" in a 1-0 win over Yate at Hartsdown on 19.11.94 and Phil only missed one of Margate's first 35 games of the season before sitting out three matches in February 1995. He returned to the side for six games from 14.3.95 to 1.4.95 but Phil then suffered an injury that kept him out for another seven matches. He recovered to feature four times in the closing weeks of the season and ended the 1994/95 campaign having made 44 appearances without scoring.

In July 1995 the Isle of Thanet Gazette reported that Phil had rejoined Sittingbourne for an undisclosed fee but the transfer fell through and he stayed at Margate for the 1995/96 season. He lost the captaincy to Paul Manning but became player-coach and in the opening weeks of the campaign Phil made his 100th appearance for the club. He was a fixture in Margate's midfield and on 23.9.95 Phil scored directly from a corner in a 2-2 draw at Walton & Hersham in the FA Cup. It was his first goal in his 107th game for the club. The Thanet Times praised Phil's "dogged work in midfield" during a 1-1 draw at Bashley on 14.10.95 and said he "excelled" in 2-2 draw with Newport IOW at Hartsdown on 25.11.95. On 16.12.95 he scored again, once again directly from an inswinging corner, in a 4-1 win at Clevedon and Phil finished the season with two goals from 49 appearances.

Phil picked up a knee injury during the friendlies ahead of the 1996/97 campaign and didn't appear in the first team until 8.10.96 when he came on as a sub in a 2-1 win at Erith & Belvedere. He made his first start of the season in a 2-0 home win over Buckingham on 16.11.96 and the Thanet Times said he "gave a typically gutsy display". The paper described Phil as "a constant inspiration in midfield" during a 2-0 win over Fareham at Hartsdown Park on 30.11.96 and said he "prompted soundly" in a 1-0 win at Bashley on 14.12.96. Phil was a regular in the number seven shirt for the remainder of the campaign and ended up making 27 appearances (two as sub) without scoring.

He began the 1997/98 season as part of Margate's first-choice midfield and the Thanet Times praised Phil for "much heroic work" in a 1-1 home draw with Trowbridge on 16.8.97. He started the next three games too and the Isle of Thanet Gazette said he was a "key figure in midfield" during a 1-1 draw with Dartford at Hartsdown Park on 25.8.97. Shortly afterwards Phil's injury jinx struck again when he damaged a knee cartilage and he didn't start another match until 15.10.97 when he wore the number eleven shirt in a 1-0 defeat at Dartford.

Margate's next game was an FA Trophy tie at Whyteleafe on 18.10.97 and Phil lined up in midfield once again. However disaster struck in the first half when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury and had to be carried off. It was Phil's eighth appearance of the campaign (two of them as sub) and it turned out to be his last for Margate. Having failed to recover from his injury he retired at the end of the season aged 33 and left the club. Phil had undoubtedly been one of Margate's most influential players of the 1990's.

Phil became reserve team manager at Gravesend & Northfleet for 1998/99 and towards the end of the season he became the club's assistant manager. During the 2000/01 campaign he made one first team appearance for the Fleet as a substitute. Phil also played some Sunday League football for North Kent club Shorne during the 2002/03 campaign. He stayed with Gravesend & Northfleet until October 2003 when he left the club by mutual consent.

In March 2004 Phil returned to Margate as coach but left the club to become Welling's assistant manager in January 2005.

On 30.4.06 he played in the 'Syko Challenge' match at Hartsdown Park, a charity game to raise funds for the late Paul Sykes' family.

Phil left Welling to join Conference South Eastleigh's coach in June 2007 but stepped down in September 2007.

Later in the 2007/08 season he went back to Welling where he worked as assistant manager under Andy Ford before resigning in May 2008.