Ryan Inniss

Crystal Palace

Inniss joined the Crystal Palace youth academy at the age of 14 and signed his first professional contract two years later. He captained the club's youth team during the 2012–13 season.

Inniss joined League Two side Cheltenham Town on 1 August 2013 on a month's loan; this was later extended for a further month. "Robins" manager Mark Yates said that Inniss had "been on our radar for six months now". Standing in for the injured Troy Brown, Inniss made his professional debut on 27 August 2013 in Cheltenham's 2–1 League Cup defeat against West Ham United. He impressed, despite suffering a facial injury. He made his first appearance in the Football League four days later against Bury. On 13 September 2013, Inniss had his loan spell at Cheltenham terminated due to injury. After recovering, he was an unused substitute for Crystal Palace in a 3–1 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on 5 October 2013.

On 10 January 2014, Inniss joined Conference Premier leaders Luton Town on a one-month loan, having been a "number one target" for "Hatters" manager John Still. He scored with his first touch five minutes into his Luton debut in a 2–2 FA Trophy draw with Cambridge United. He returned to Crystal Palace after playing in three matches for the club. On 14 February 2014, he joined League One side Gillingham on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season, making his debut against Sheffield United in a 1–0 defeat. He picked up an injury in the game, which limited him to just two further appearances for the "Gills".

On 16 October 2014, Inniss joined Yeovil Town on a one-month loan deal, later extended until 20 December 2014. "Glovers" manager Gary Johnson had signed him on the recommendation of Tony Pulis. On 29 November, he was sent off for the first time in his career for a two-footed challenge on Kyel Reid in a 2–0 defeat by Preston North End at Huish Park. On 6 January 2015, Inniss returned to Crystal Palace after being recalled from his loan spell at Yeovil having made six appearances.

On 12 February 2015, Inniss joined Port Vale on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut two days later, helping the "Valiants" to keep their first clean sheet in three months with a 1–0 win over Walsall. He collected five yellow cards in five starts during his stay at Vale Park, helping the team to concede just two goals whilst he was on the pitch, but his loan spell was not extended as he damaged his ankle ligaments during his final appearance.

After being linked with a return to Burslem for many weeks, his arrival on loan at Port Vale for the entirety of the 2015–16 season was confirmed on 27 July. He started the 2015–16 season competing with Remie Streete and Richard Duffy for one of two available centre-back places. He was in good form at the start of the campaign, and also managed to significantly improve his disciplinary record. He dislocated his shoulder in September and returned to Selhurst Park for treatment, though his loan deal to Port Vale remained active. He returned to Vale shortly after Christmas. However he picked up a hamstring injury in a home draw with Coventry City on 7 February, and was ruled out of action for three weeks. He returned to Crystal Palace after a re-occurrence of his hamstring injury in a defeat to Barnsley on 28 March. Page described him as "the unluckiest player I think I have ever met with injuries".

On 31 August 2016, he joined League One side Southend United on loan for the rest of the 2016–17 season. He had a difficult start to the campaign, and after returning to Southend following his release from prison he went on to dislocate his shoulder in an FA Cup defeat to Millwall, and was ruled out of action for three months following surgery. On 25 February, he was sent off for two yellow card offences in a 2–1 loss at Gillingham, though manager Phil Brown strongly criticised the decision and said it was "unbelievable refereeing". On 4 April, he dislocated his shoulder for the second time of the season in a 1–0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers at Roots Hall.

On 31 August 2017, he joined League Two side Colchester United on loan for the rest of the 2017–18 season. He made his Colchester debut in a 3–1 win over Crawley Town at the Colchester Community Stadium on 9 September.

International career

Inniss has represented England at under-16 and under-17 level. He scored the winning goal in England U16's 2–1 Victory Shield win over Scotland U16 in 2011.

Inniss is eligible to represent Trinidad and Tobago at international level, due to his father being born there.

Personal life

Inniss had a troubled childhood, as his mother's drug dependency and his father's imprisonment left him to raise his two younger siblings as a teenager. He has three police cautions: one for a public order offence in 2011, one for common assault in August 2015 and one for being drunk and disorderly and resisting a police constable in March 2015. On 9 September 2016, Inniss pleaded guilty to assault following an incident in a bar four months earlier; he was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison. He was released three days later after successfully appealing his sentence, which was suspended for 18 months; he was also handed 240 hours unpaid work, a £300 fine, and ordered to take part in a 20-day alcohol rehabilitation course.

Style of play

A vocal player, Cheltenham Town centre-back partner Steve Elliott described him as "a typical modern-day centre-half: tall, athletic and aggressive".

Career statistics