Foxes fan's Pukka plea for a Paulo pie
A FOOTBALL-mad Leicester City supporter has cooked up a wacky idea to help fellow fans cope with life in the stands – a new pie flavour which honours new coach Paulo Sousa.
Ryan Murrant, who used to live in East Carlton and whose parents live in Desborough, has been making waves with his Pirri Pirri Paulo Pie campaign which has been backed by 1,130 people on the social networking website Facebook.
Mr Murrant has now seen his idea take hold and Leicester-based company Pukka Pies has invited him to its Syston factory to taste some trial dishes.
"They've invited me to their factory next week to try out some samples," a chuffed Mr Murrant told the Mail, "I can't believe how successful it's been."
The Facebook group has also spawned a comical YouTube music video created by Mr Murrant called Paulo Pies Are Good which features football-based lyrics over a soundtrack reminiscent of The Shamen's 1992 hit Ebeneezer Goode.
Unfortunately, the success of Mr Murrant's campaign is not being echoed by Paulo's men on the Walkers Stadium pitch. Since moving to City from Swansea, the Portuguese coach has struggled in the league with just one point from City's first four games and they sit equal bottom in the standings.
Mr Murrant, who works in business development for employment firm Jobsite, first went to a City game at Filbert Street with his dad in 1981 and has followed the Foxes everywhere.
He has also managed to visit a total of 60 football league grounds along the way.
A former season ticket holder at City before moving to Chichester a few years ago, he still gets to see the team regularly and watched three-quarters of their League One away games during the 2008/09 promotion campaign.
The 33-year-old, who popped to Harborough last weekend to visit friends, said: "I started the campaign for a bit of fun but it just shows you the power of new social media like Facebook."
Mr Murrant's eight-month-old son Bailey also has the distinction of being the youngest-ever Foxes fan - his granddad signed him up to the supporters' club at just seven hours' old.
Pirri pirri, also known as African Devil, is a small and extremely spicy member of the capsicum genus which is one of the sources of chilli pepper. Although its origins are in Mozambique, it has become a popular sauce in Portugal and other countries.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Harborough
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
