and featured in only ten of their Premiership matches during that time. However, he was on the pitch when Bradford memorably secured safety on the last day of the 1999–2000 season with a win against Liverpool. Rankin was loaned out twice by Bradford, firstly to Birmingham City and then Bolton Wanderers, before finally leaving the club permanently to join Yorkshire rivals Barnsley. Barnsley Rankin joined Barnsley for £350,000 on 19 January 2001, and would go on to play in three different seasons for the Oakwell club. During the 2003–04 season, with Barnsley rooted in the middle of the Division Two table, he was made available for transfer after losing his place in the team. Barnsley attempted to sign Grimsby Town striker Michael Boulding, who had wanted to leave the club following the dismissal of Town's manager Paul Groves. Barnsley offered Town £50,000 for Boulding with the option of taking Rankin on a one-month loan as part of the deal. The offer was accepted by caretaker manager Graham Rodger and Rankin signed for The Mariners initially for a one-month loan period. Grimsby Town Rankin scored two goals in his first six games. In a match against his parent club Barnsley at Blundell Park, Rankin scored a goal in a 6–1 victory for Grimsby, but controversially upset Barnsley manager Gudjon Thordarson for what he called an unprofessional goal celebration. Thordarson stated that Rankin would never play for Barnsley again, and the player had his contract terminated with immediate effect, which allowed him to sign for Grimsby on a permanent basis until the end of the season. Grimsby appointed Nicky Law as manager but he could not prevent the club's relegation, despite Rankin's goal in a 1–0 win against Brentford on the second-last game of the season. Following the club's relegation, Rankin was out of contract and decided not to stay at Blundell Park in favour to stay playing his football in League One. Brentford Brentford came in for the striker, and signed him on a two-year deal. Rankin joined the club along with fellow Grimsby player Jamie Lawrence. During his spell at the Griffin Park club, his goal against Southampton in the 2004–05 FA Cup Fifth Round was nominated on Match of the Day's 'Goal of the Month' competition, but did not win the top prize. Rankin was released by Brentford in May 2006 after two years. Return to Grimsby Town Rankin