IT IS a welcome sign of Valley Parade normality to see Mike Harrison selling copies of City Gent from his usual spot.

The longest-serving editor of the longest-running fanzine presents a familiar landmark at the bottom of Burlington Street as fans head into the ground.

After a season spent locked out of football, spotting one of City’s most distinctive supporters again is a reassuring one.

But it was touch and go whether Harrison and City Gent would make it back after a bout of depression brought on by work.

The stress and anxiety built up and left Harrison considering the future of the fanzine, which will turn 37 next month.

“I’ve been struggling for most of this year, to be honest,” he said. “I do get these bouts in waves but usually I can hide them quite well.

“I’m a pretty public person with City Gent and Bradford City. But when that’s not happening, as it hasn’t for 18 months, then it can get worse.

“I felt I should have been better during the summer. But I’ve had this feeling of being overworked, exhausted and just burnt out.

“I had some time off at the end of July when we should have been on holiday but when I got back to work, I just felt I couldn’t do it anymore.”

The fanzine had managed to break even during the pandemic with five issues produced since fans had last been allowed into Valley Parade.

Edition number 229 for the City faithful's “homecoming” should have been a cause of celebration for Harrison, the editor for the past 17 years. It was anything but.

“I just couldn’t force it out of myself or other people,” he admitted.

“Normally I get inspiration and ideas for the cartoon on the front cover and different articles. I didn’t have anything.

“It would have been an ideal time for the first mag of the season but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind and then found out others weren’t either.

“It just built up and I had to bin the idea for bringing one out at the start.”

On the eve of the Oldham home opener, Harrison took to Twitter to explain why City Gent would be missing. He was humbled by the response.

“I got so much love and support. Not one bad comment was made at all.

“I wasn’t fishing for sympathy. The last thing I wanted to be doing was drawing attention to myself but I did get some lovely messages.

“I didn’t intend it as a public rallying call but it was depressing thinking that maybe it was the end of the City Gent. I’d had time to analyse everything that’s going on and, like it or not, I’m saddled with it because I can’t find anyone else to take it on.

“I genuinely envisaged that the time would come when we didn’t find enough people to sell them to, rather than getting to a stage where we didn’t have enough wanting to write for it.

“Paul Firth was a great person for filling gaps and sadly we lost him earlier in the year. He would always come through with something interesting.

“Then, at the end of July, John Armitage who had been a stalwart for the ‘Grumpy Ol’ Fan’ column emailed to say he was on borrowed time. He died last month.

“Being contacted by someone who was terminally ill just set me off. It added to everything else.

“But seeing so many people showing they want the City Gent to continue was so heartening.”

New articles were submitted to help pick up the slack and the new edition was able to hit the press. But even then, it was delayed because of a lack of paper caused by the nationwide driver shortages.

Harrison smiled: “It should have been out for the Walsall game, which was a lovely sunny day.

“But because of the slow down in everything, we had to put it back to Rochdale. Typically, it was hammering with rain but at least we won.

“It felt good to be back in my normal spot, though, chatting to people and explaining where I am personally and the situation with the City Gent.

“People are concerned about me and that’s lovely. Lots have said they’ve been through it themselves.

“The club have also been very good, organising passes for us to sell inside the ground and things like that.

“It was tiring, I’ll admit that. It took it out of me a little bit being back but I felt good for it.

“I’ve been to all the home games and did go to Mansfield as well.

“Mental health has not got that stigma anymore. Stephen Warnock recently came out and talked about his depression.

“I feel it’s a relatively mild form and relates back to past incidents in my life where I’ve lost people.

“I know I’ll come out of it, something clicks within me. In the mean-time, it’s frustrating that I don’t feel 100 per cent my normal self.”