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In recent times, very few players have given as good a service to North End as Lee Cartwright. He is currently the longest-serving player on the books, having spent 8 years as a pro at Deepdale.
Lee made his debut in a 1-0 victory at Shrewsbury on March 2nd 1991, and, having seen Les Chapman, John Beck and Gary Peters all come and go, he is still a firm favourite with the fans.
His fitness and pace is second to none - he caused Nelson Vivas all manner of problems in last season's cup clash against Arsenal - and when on form, can terrorise the best of full-backs.
Deceptively strong in the tackle, Lee is currently the only North End player willing to hit the byline and put over quality crosses to the strikers. It is for this reason that he is missed so much when he picks up one of his all too frequent injuries. Since damaging his cruciate ligament at Scunthorpe in 1996, he has faced a constant struggle against injury, and it seems whenever he hits his best form, he misses another few games.
His best performance of the 1998/99 season came in the 3-1 victory at home to Wrexham, one of the best displays seen at Deepdale from a midfield player for many a year. He ripped the Robins' defence apart that day, scoring two goals, and just missing out on his first ever hat-trick. His second goal, North End's third, was such a fantastic demonstration of pace that no defender could get within five yards of him.
His critics say he is too inconsistent, not really justifying his place in the side week in week out. Maybe this is true, but if he can stay clear of injuries in the future, he will only get better.
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