BYRON Anthony has retired and that is a major loss for Newport County AFC.

Over time I think we’ve forgotten just what an important player Byron was and in satisfaction at current results have perhaps neglected to reflect on just how cruel it is for a player to be forced into retirement aged 30. It is, as we all know, already a short career to begin with.

Hyperbolic reporters are prone to throw around words like ‘tragedy’ in such an instance, but that of course is grossly inappropriate. There is no tragedy here, Byron has lost a career not a limb and there is life after football, especially with the support offered by the Professional Footballers Association.

However, it is definitely sad that Byron couldn’t recover from the double leg-break suffered at Brighton last season, a miserable footnote for those of us who remember with crystal clarity the snapping sound and cry of anguish that reverberated around the Falmer Stadium when he went in for a 50/50 challenge. The incident can’t have been more than 20-yards from our vantage point in the press box.

There is a frustration as well at the fact that Byron has laboured and struggled for 15 months, having his good days, his bad days and much discomfort, always battling with the belief he could resurrect his career. For Max Porter and Aaron O’Connor, that will really resonate. But while they’ve found light at the end of the tunnel, for Byron, there was only pain, physical and mental. The heart was willing, the leg was not.

It’s a myth to suggest there has been a clandestine hush job from the club over his situation, Edinburgh informed the Argus off-the-record in early September that he didn’t believe he was going to recover from his injuries.

That was awkward, because at the time the player himself was telling us he was fit and ready to play as he chased permanence to his month-to-month contract. But over time, as Byron has explained with eloquence, the aches and the difficulty in doing what once came easily became apparent and he had to face the reality he and every single one of his peers fear the most, he couldn’t play football anymore.

But the club did a good job of protecting Byron and are continuing to stand by their man by giving him coaching work. That’s heartening and not to be taken for granted.

We all recall the curious case of Ian Hillier and it’s nice to see County acting with maximum compassion and standing by one of their own.

Because Anthony is about as Newport as you can be and there is regret that unlike say; Mr Newport County Nathan Davies, Anthony played dozens of times for his hometown club, rather than hundreds.

Anthony will have no regrets after a good club career with Bristol Rovers in the Football League, but equally someone like Davies was more than capable of playing at League Two level.

It’s a shame that Anthony was not only cut off well before his finish – Mike Flynn thinks he could’ve played until he was 36 or 37 and who am I to argue? – but in the absolute infancy of what could’ve been a really distinguished time with the Exiles.

Because we shouldn’t forget just how good Anthony was, while of course being mindful of letting nostalgia cloud our judgement, such as with my steadfast belief that Jason Bowen was basically a Welsh David Ginola.

In reality, Anthony lacked a yard of pace or that little extra strength that would’ve distinguished him as a Championship or Premier League player, but he was about as good as you’ll find outside the top two tiers.

It was farcical that he was deemed surplus to requirements at Rovers – farcical decisions something of a forte at that club for a while – and County gained massively in picking up a quality defender at just the right time.

Byron was pound-for-pound County’s best player between January and May of 2013 and that revival coincides with the most significant run of results Newport achieved in three decades.

Being a massive part of Newport’s return to the Football League is something no-one can ever deny Byron and he should be remembered as a very good lower league defender, someone who read the game exceptionally well and possessed all the attributes you’d want from a footballing centre back.

Byron had a very good career that should’ve lasted longer and it’s a real shame he didn’t get to play for the Exiles for several more seasons.

Bright and personable, I have no doubt Byron can and will succeed in what comes next, be that media work, coaching, or eventually management.

He’s a good man and he was a top player for the County. We wish him nothing but the best.