12:00pm Friday 2nd February 2007
By Simon Parker
Getting 10,000 pledges may sound a tall order - but City's tallest fan is backing the T&A campaign all the way.
Mike Harrison knows the size of the task to get 10,000 supporters pledging to buy cheap season-tickets for the Intersonic Stadium.
But standing at a towering 6ft 8in himself, the editor of club fanzine City Gent is used to reaching for the skies.
Chairman Julian Rhodes has promised to slash season-ticket prices to £138 if the 10,000 For Our Team target is hit over the next four weeks.
Harrison, a member of Britain's Tall Person's Club, is putting himself down for four tickets for his family - and is urging his fellow fans to do the same.
"It's going to be an interesting barometer test on the latent support for the club out there," he said.
"I feel we've got a hardcore of about 7,000 who turn up every week and it's about attracting the others back.
"The big problem this year is that people are picking and choosing. Sadly when they have chosen to come down to games, like the Huddersfield one, we haven't done very well - but that has always been the case at City.
"It is a big leap in faith but the chairman and T&A have to be applauded for trying this.
"We know there are more than 10,000 people out there who care about this football club. Sometimes they just want more of a say."
Harrison believes the hugely-successful Save Our City campaign three years ago proved that the support was still out there for City to tap into.
Now he is hoping similar numbers will turn out in force to get behind a campaign which would see admission prices dropped to the equivalent of £6 per match.
Harrison said: "There were 10,000 people who turned out at very short notice for the Save Our City match at Valley Parade. It proved that day that City still had that support behind them.
"This campaign will show if there are 10,000 fans who care enough to pledge £138 - or £1.4million - so that it can go ahead."
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