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Mark Rankine was signed by Gary Peters from Wolves for £100,000 in September 1996, making an impressive debut in North End's Coca Cola Cup tie against Spurs at Deepdale. He failed to complete that game, going off with a leg injury, a problem which plagued him for a fair chunk of his first season here.
Not a popular player with sections of the crowd, Mark can be described as a battling midfielder similar in style to the likes of David Batty. However, like Batty, it is his tendency to play a simple sideways pass rather than attempt to find the killer ball that infuriates the North End fans so much.
Nonetheless, he is a player who always gives his all, and one who rarely loses a 50/50 challenge. He has also formed an effective partnership in the centre of midfield with skipper Sean Gregan, though the pair's lack of goals is a concern.
In the early days of his career at Doncaster, he had a reasonable record in front of goal, but at Wolves and Preston, he has very rarely scored. This problem was highlighted when manager David Moyes inexplicably chose to play him in attack in the play-off second leg defeat at Gillingham in May 1999.
It remains to be seen whether Rankine will remain a fixture in the North End side in 1999/00, but if he does, it is unlikely to be alongside Sean Gregan. Though they are outstanding as a ball-winning partnership, one is likely to make way to create room for a midfielder with better attacking capabilities.
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