[FM15] From Freetown to Partytown! - An adventure with pudding

In the sleepy small town of Brading, there is a man so in denial about his management skills that he convinced his local team, Brading Town, to pay for his first coaching certificate. After a year coaching the under-18's and a being caretaker of the reserves for the final 3 games of their best season ever (finishing 5th), Gary Pudding, the self-proclaimed Mourinho of the Isle of Wight, has decided to broaden his horizons to international management. "You fancy a crack managing Isle of Wight at the Island Games do ya, Gaz?" No, bigger! "Going across the solent, somewhere like Totton or Lymington?" No, further!

With his Continental Pro license in hand, Gary forwarded his CV to every national FA he could name: Franse, Beljum, Swisserland, Latvuania, Costa Rice, Conga; you name it, he went for it. And though his international experience is limited to a school trip to Bayeux, Gary is positive his natural ability will lead him to the World Cup.

After a few weeks mail consisting of mostly pizza leaflets and parish newsletters, he was summoned by Royal Mail to make a trip to his nearest depot to collect a letter that had not been paid the correct postage to make the journey to Brading. "If it's British Gas being cheapskates again, I won't be happy!". He picked up the letter, paid what was due, and noticed the stamp mark of 'Freetown'. Curiously and eagerly, he sat in his car and opened a letter sent from the Sierra Leone FA.

Isha Johansen, the head of Sierra Leone Football Association (SLAFA), is perhaps blind or desperate because Gary Pudding has been offered the position of national team manager. With no hesitation, and a lack of regard for the high cost of international calls to West Africa, he rang SLAFA and accepted the role happily!

Come July 2014, Gary boarded a plane at Heathrow and headed for the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown, probably via some other places. Bye wife and kids!

The Squad

The National Stadium