Club career
Newcastle United
Brad Inman was born in Adelaide and moved to England in 2006 when he was 14 years old. He was invited to join the Newcastle United Academy in 2007. [4] [5] Progressing through the club's junior levels, he was promoted to the reserve team in the 2008–09 season. [6] He then signed a three–year contract with the club [7] and soon became a regular choice for the reserves. [8] He was twice named as a substitute for Newcastle's first team: against Manchester City for a Premier League fixture in January 2009 and for a League Cup tie at Peterborough United in September 2009. [4] [9] Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Inman was included in Newcastle's pre–season tour and played against Carlisle United. [10] In February 2012, he signed a one–year contract extension, [11] but for the rest of his Newcastle career, he was a reserve player only. [12]
Inman rejected a proposed loan move to Gateshead in October 2012. [13] Instead, on 22 November, he joined League One club Crewe Alexandra on loan, initially until January 2013. [14] The deal was later extended to the end of the 2012–13 season. [15] Inman was then offered a new contract by Newcastle but he said he was "considering his options" as a permanent move to Crewe would assure him of first-team football. [16] [17] On 22 August 2013, Inman rejected Newcastle's offer and signed a three-year contract with Crewe for an undisclosed fee. [18]
Crewe Alexandra (loan)
Having been an unused substitute in two matches, Inman made his senior debut for Crewe on 4 December 2012, playing 88 minutes of a Football League Trophy fixture against Doncaster Rovers. [19] Four days later, on 8 December 2012, he made his league debut and scored his first goal for Crewe in a 3–1 win over Preston North End. [20]
Inman helped Crewe to reach the 2013 Football League Trophy Final, scoring once against Bradford City [21] and twice in the first leg against Coventry City. [22] [23] He was out of action for two weeks because of an ankle injury [24] but was fit to play the first 69 minutes of the final against Southend United, which Crewe won 2–0. [25] Inman made a total of 26 appearances in the season and scored eight goals. He then had to decide if he should complete a permanent transfer to Crewe or return to Newcastle. [26]
Crewe Alexandra
Following Inman's transfer to Crewe, their team manager Steve Davis said: "He will be a great asset for the club and he deserves great credit for turning down Newcastle's offer and going into the lower leagues to play regular football. I'm sure there are not many 21-year-olds who could turn down a Premier League club for the bigger picture". [27] Inman's first match after signing for the club on a permanent basis was against Leyton Orient on 24 August 2013. He came on as a substitute in the 69th minute, but Crewe lost 2–0. [28] He became a first team regular, playing in a midfield position. [29] However, in November 2013, Davis made Inman and fellow midfielder Anthony Grant available for loan because he was unhappy about their attitude problems: "Their attitude has got to be better," Davis told BBC Radio Stoke. "For the moment, for the benefit of the squad, they're better not around it". [30]
Inman returned to the team on 14 December, coming on as a 78th minute substitute in a 2–2 draw against Coventry City. [31] He then regained his place in the team. [32] He missed seven matches during the season, but made forty appearances and scored four goals in all competitions. [33]
He played for Crewe until 2015–16, when the team was relegated to League Two. [34] Inman was on the club's retained list after relegation, subject to contract negotiations. [35] Local newspaper Crewe Chronicle expected him to leave [36] and manager Davis later confirmed it. [37]
Peterborough United
In June 2016, after his contract at Crewe Alexandra ended, Inman joined Peterborough United, signing a three–year contract. [38] Upon joining the club, he was given a number sixteen shirt for the side. [39]
In the club's pre-season at Portugal, Inman was featured two times in a friendly match against Boreham Wood and Norwich City. [40] However, Inman broke his leg in pre-season training and required surgery. [41] By late September, Inman returned to training and began rehabilitating his injury. [42] On 17 November 2016, he returned from injury against Bouremouth's Reserve Team and started and played 70 minutes before being substituted. [43] On 10 December 2016, he finally made his Peterborough United debut, coming on as a late substitute, in a 5–2 win over Chesterfield. [44] Since returning from injury, Inman found himself placed in the substitute bench for the rest of the season. [45] He later contributed three assists, which the first one occurred against Rochdale on 25 February 2017 and then set up two goals in two matches on 11 March 2017 and 14 March 2017 against Oxford United and Chesterfield. [46] At the end of the 2016–17 season, Inman made twelve appearances in all competition at his first season at the club and made only five starts.
Following this, the club placed Inman on a transfer list at the end of the 2016–17 season and at the end of the 2017–18 season. [47] After returning to his parent club at the end of the 2017–18 season, he left the club by mutual consent. [48]
Rochdale (loan spell)
Inman joined Rochdale on loan for the 2017–18 season in June 2017. [49] Upon joining the club, he was given a number seventeen shirt ahead of the new season. [50]
Inman made his Rochdale debut in the first round of the League Cup against Mansfield Town, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 win. [51] A week later on 19 August 2017 against Shrewsbury Town, he made his first start for the side and set up one of the goals, as Rochdale lost 3–2. [52] Since joining the club, Inman quickly became a first team regular for the side, playing in the midfield position. [53] > On 16 September 2017 when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 loss against Milton Keynes Dons, which was followed up three days later, scoring twice in a 4–0 win over Bury. [54] Inman later added three goals by the end of 2017, including a brace against Bromley in a FA Cup match. [55] Later in the second half of the season, he found himself in a number of matches on the substitute bench. [56] Despite this, Inman played a role when he set up three goals in three matches between 24 March 2018 and 3 April 2018 before scoring his seventh goal of the season, in a 3–3 draw against Portsmouth four days later. [57] He did so once again, setting up two goals in two matches between 21 April 2018 and 24 April 2018 before scoring in a 2–1 loss against Oxford United four days later. [58] At the end of the 2017–18 season, Inman went on to make forty-seven appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions and returned to his parent club following this. [59]
Rochdale (permanent move)
On 4 July 2018, Inman signed for Rochdale on a one-year deal, after he was released from Peterborough United. [60] Upon joining the club, he switched number shirt from seventeen to nineteen. [61]
Inman's first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came in the opening game of the season, scoring twice, in a 2–1 win over Burton Albion. [62] He initially became a first team regular at the start of the season before not playing for a month throughout September and returned to the first team against Bristol Rovers on 2 October 2018. [63] On 17 November 2018, Inman scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–2 against Shrewsbury Town. [64] He scored the following month on 15 December 2018, in a 2–1 loss against Plymouth Argyle. [65] However, later in the 2018–19 season, Inman's playing time was reduced, as he has made the matchday squad a few occasions he has remained in the substitute bench. [66] Despite this, Inman played in different positions on two occasions later in the season. [67] Inman went on to make twenty–four appearances and scoring four times in all competitions for the side. He was released by Rochdale at the end of the 2018–19 season. [68]
International career
Although born and raised in Australia, Inman has represented Scotland at youth and under-21 level as he qualifies through his mother. [4] [85] He also eligible to play for England through his father, who was born in England but raised in Australia. [7]
Scotland under-19
Inman was first selected for the Scotland U19 squad in February 2009. [86] He revealed that he rejected a call-up from Australia U20 to join up the Scotland U19 side. [85]
On 25 February 2009, he made his Scotland U21 debut on 25 February 2009, in a 3–2 loss against France U19. [87] Between 10 October 2009 and 12 October 2009, Inman scored two goals in two matches against Romania U19 and Armenia U19. [88] He then scored his third Scotland U19 goal on 21 May 2010, in a 2–1 loss against Belgium U19. [89] Inman was then a regular fixture throughout his time at Scotland U19, as the midfielder gained seven under-19 caps and scoring three goals.
Scotland under-21
During the 2010–11 season, Inman was called up to the Scotland U21 squad in August 2010. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in the 1–1 draw against Sweden U21 and made his full debut in the 3–1 victory over Northern Ireland U21. [90]
Australia
Despite representing Scotland, Inman is still able to play international football at senior level for Australia under FIFA rules on senior allegiance. [91] On 11 May 2016, Inman was called up to the Australian national team for their friendly against England on 27 May 2016. [92] Inman was an unused substitute as Australia lost 2–1. [93]
