November Schedule
The NYC Bees are gearing up for three November matches at The Red Lion. We start with a home game against West Ham on Saturday, Nov. 4 (11 a.m. ET), followed by Liverpool on Sunday, Nov. 12 (9 a.m. ET). The Brentford-Arsenal match on Saturday, Nov. 25 (12:30 p.m. ET) will be on our docket, but we also realize that this takes place during Thanksgiving Weekend. Even if folks will be out of town, we'll still try and get a good group together for this; Red Lion's hours remain the same during the holiday stretch.
Our daylight savings time takes place the day after the Brentford-West Ham matchup, so we'll be 4 hours behind the UK for that one and then back to 5 hours behind for the other two matches. Additionally, Brentford announced four schedule updates in December and January.
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Shoutout to Abhi Goyal and Alison Roberts who just got married on Oct. 14! The ceremony took place on a weekend that didn't feature a Brentford match, so clearly they put some thoughtful planning into this! We enjoy having you as part of our NYC Bees fam, and we wish you many happy times and memories! CONGRATULATIONS!
Brentford News & Notes
Historic Feat Against Chelsea: With Brentford coming off a 2-0 victory at Chelsea this past Saturday, the Bees also made some significant history. Brentford is the first Premier League team to win each of its first three matches against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in league play. Since April, Brentford has earned two wins on Chelsea's home ground, versus the Blues' ONE.
Pinnock, Defensive Group Stepping Up: Brentford has garnered back-to-back shutout victories, with center back Ethan Pinnock making his presence felt on both sides of the pitch, including the winning header against Chelsea. It shouldn't come as a surprise that this success has coincided with some returnees. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has two clean sheets after an appendicitis injury kept him out against Manchester United. Outside back Aaron Hickey returned after missing Burnley due to a yellow card accumulation suspension. Center back Ben Mee (muscle strain) has been an available bench option the past two games. Nothing will fully overcome the season-long absence of Rico Henry, but with the increased defensive depth and important contributions from Nathan Collins and Kristoffer Ajer, things are on an upward trajectory.
Toney Working Back With B Team: Forever Ivan Toney, serving his suspension for betting rules violations, has been back in training with the club since mid-September. Toney is not allowed in first-team match activity until mid-January, but he is getting some valuable minutes through the Brentford B Team. Toney's first match action took place on Oct. 3, when he scored a goal during the B Team's 2-2 draw against Italian club Como. If Brentford is still in Toney's and the club's plans come the new year, the striker could be first available on Jan. 20 against Nottingham Forest.
Thomas Frank: 5 Years and Counting: Mid-October marked the first-year anniversary of the appointment of Thomas Frank as Brentford's manager. Interestingly, among this season's Premier League club managers, only two others have served longer consecutive tenures with their respective clubs: Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola.
New Academy Director: Brentford recently hired Steve Torpey as the club's new Academy Director and will begin this role starting in January. Torpey is the head of coaching at Manchester City, and he introduced a "Barcelona style" coaching system into City's academy. Torpey previously was an academy coach at Liverpool, where he also was a youth player for six years in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Some pretty impressive credentials!
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If you ever have any thoughts, feel free to email (brentfordnyc@gmail.com) or chat with my anytime! #COYB!
Charlie
