Cray Wanderers have announced that left back Grant Basey has decided to retire from the game.

“After considerable thought, I would like to announce my retirement from football. This decision hasn’t been taken lightly but I feel that I can no longer play to the levels that I have set myself throughout my career. The injuries I’ve had have taken their toll. Whilst this is the end of my playing chapter, I have a strong desire to stay in the game through coaching and one day become a manager. I would just like to personally thank all my team mates, Tony Russell, the owners of Cray Wanderers and last of all the Cray Massive! Last year was a very good year for me and being named Player of the Year was up there with my greatest achievements. Thank you all for being so welcoming to me and I will hold Cray Wanderers very close to my heart. I wish the club all the very best and hope they succeed in fulfilling their dreams of moving into their new stadium.

Many thanks.

Grant Basey”

Grant, 28,  a former Welsh youth international came to Cray in the summer of 2015 from VCD Athletic and had a tremendously consistent season being ever-present during the league campaign scoring a career best 10 goals, 5 of which were directly from free-kicks.

Equally at home at left back or occasionally in the centre of defence, Grant is a hard defender to beat for pace, an accurate passer of the ball, gets forward well and has great delivery from set-pieces.

The standards Grant set earned him the Cray Wanderers Supporters Player of the Year.

This season he was injured in an FA Cup tie at Faversham in September but returned to the side for the league game at Herne Bay in February and made 9 appearances in League and cup scoring twice, memorably from his own half at Badshot Lea in the FA Cup in August.

Grant began his career with Charlton Athletic making 46 league and cup appearances at the Valley and later spent spells at Barnet, Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers before stepping into the non-league game at Ebbsfleet United and then VCD Athletic.

Won representative honours at U17, U19 and U21 level with Wales and played in the same set up as the likes of Gareth Bale, Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey.

Tremendously strong, hard to shrug off the ball with a ferocious shot Grant made himself an instant hit with Cray Wanderers fans with three goals from free kicks in successive games in August 2015.

He has also ran the London Marathon in 2015 and 2016 and everyone at Cray wishes him well in his future endeavours.