Tinkler: Mark Roland (Mark)

1993-1997 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Bishop Auckland: 24-10-1974

Debut: Sheffield United (a): 06-04-1993

5’10” 13st 3lb (1995)

Tinkler started his career in LeedsUnited’s youth team. He joined Leeds from school and did not land a senior contract until July 1993 after he made his senior debut as an eighteen-year-old. Tinkler was part of the Leeds Youth team that won the 1993 FA Youth Cup. He excelled in central defence in the Final games against Manchester United but played virtually all of his senior football in midfield. Leeds won 4-1 on aggregate, triumphing over the favoured Manchester team which included future Internationals David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Robbie Savage and Keith Gillespie. An England Schools and Youth player, he was a member of the England Under-Eighteen squad that won the European Championship. He wore David Batty’s No.4 shirt at Sheffield United when making his debut but found oppurtunities scarce as he was used mostly as midfield cover for the superb Leeds midfield of Strachan, Batty, McAllister and Speed. A broken ankle while playing in a Reserve game in the following season put his career on hold, but he showed signs of getting back into the first team picture during 1994-95 and was included for the away hame at Sheffield Wednesday. However, after just six minutes he was subjected to an horrific two footed tackle which saw Gordon Watson sent off and Tinkler stretchered off and sidelined for another long period. In his first four seasons at Leeds, Tinkler started just nineteen first team matches and made five substitute appearances. In order to gain more first team appearances Tinkler was loaned to York City in March 1997 and Tinkler made nine appearances for the Minstermen. He then joined them permanently for a fee of £75,000. Tinkler went on to play a key role for York in the 1997/98 season and played in all but two of their forty-six League matches, scoring four goals in the process. Tinkler carried on in similar fashion the following season and added another thirty-six League appearances to his tally. When York’s ex-manager Alan Little became the new manager of Southend United, Tinkler decided to follow him and he was signed in time for the 1999/00 season for £40,000. With the Minstermen he scored six League goals from ninety-two starts and two games from the bench and played another fourteen games in the Cup competitions. His first season at Southend was a successful one and he made forty-one League appearances. He started his second season at Southend strongly but it was unfortunately cut short after he fell off a ladder. On 2nd November 2000 Tinkler sign for Hartlepool United on a free transfer, despite protests from the Southend fans. With Southend he managed just one League goal from fifty-five starts and one substitute appearance and he made four starts and had one game from the bench without scoring in the Cup competitions. Tinkler’s Hartlepool debut came against Scunthorpe and he immediately cemented his place in the first team and formed a formidable partnership with Paul Stephenson and Tommy Miller. He played a pivotal role in helping Hartlepool make the play-offs scoring three goals in twenty-eight League appearances. The 2001-2002 season saw Tinkler score more goals than he had done previously in his whole career as he managed to net nine and once again helped Hartlepool make the play-offs. In 2002-03 Tinkler maintained his inspired form and was part of Hartlepool’s promotion winning team and he once again broke his seasons’ goals tally, this time netting thirteen goals in forty-five League starts. One of Tinkler’s most notable performances came in the 4-3 win against Wrexham where he managed to score his first hat-trick. During the following seasons, Tinkler would once again play a vital part in Hartlepool’s team as he helped establish them in League One. He was voted into the PFA Division Three Team of the Year in 2003-04. Unfortunately, injury hampered Tinkler’s latter career and he has struggled to play the same number of games that he had previously acheived. He was released by Hartlepool in May 2007, after two hundred starts and eleven games from the bench in the League, in which he scored thirty-four goals, while in the Cup competitions there were thirty-nine more starts and three substitute appearances for two more goals. He joined Scottish First Division side Livingston in July 2007 on a free transfer. After eighteen League starts and a further game from the bench, in which he scored twice and two Cup games without scoring, he was released by Livingston when his contract expired in May 2008. He joined Whitby Town in the Northern Premier League Premier Division in June 2008, he started eight League games and came off the bench for another three. He twisted an ankle after sixteen minutes against Prescot Cables on 4th October 2008. He joined Shildon AFC and has made sixteen starts and three substitute appearances up to the end of September 2009. He joined Esh Winning in November 2009, where he scored once in eight appearances, by the end of 2009-10.