March Madness, Field Trip to Football Factory
Our stretch of March Madness features four matches, including a road game against Arsenal on March 9. We will be getting together for every game this month, but there is a little hurdle: The late kickoff on March 30 against Manchester United cuts into the Saturday music entertainment window at The Red Lion, and unfortunately the pub is unable to adjust its itinerary. Therefore, we will be doing a one-time field trip to watch that match at The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., in Midtown Manhattan. I'm sure some of you have set foot in there before; it works as a nice temporary venue to make some noise!
See the graphic for our schedule breakdown.
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Our February included four NYC Bees appearances on the USA-based podcast circuit. I connected two times for the live Manchester City Shades of Blue show, previewing the Feb. 3 match and then rejoining a couple weeks later to chat about manager Thomas Frank and some other interesting Bees topics. Our good friends Tim Searls and Greville Waterman also welcomed me back to the Across the Seas But Forever Bees podcast, and our own Abhi Goyal contributed once again about the Brentford side of things on the Whole Lotta Wolves podcast to preview our last victory.
I have one upcoming podcast on the March docket and will keep a lookout for some more opportunities. I'm always open to any contributions or suggestions you may have in this space!
Brentford News & Notes
Grasping for reinforcements: With just two victories and 10 defeats over its past 12 league matches, Brentford finds itself only a couple positions about the relegation zone in the club's third Premier League season. The Bees did come up with a crucial 2-0 road victory against Wolves on Feb. 10, but it also came at a price as center back Ethan Pinnock injured his ankle. The early prognosis from the club is that Pinnock could return after the March international break. The timetable for Bryan Mbeumo (also an ankle injury) might be similar to Pinnock, which gives some sliver of hope that reinforcements could be on the way heading into April. But then there are other injuries that have lingered much longer than expected. Outside back Aaron Hickey had a "setback" as he has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since late October, and there's still no timetable on Kevin Schade (groin), who was injured during warm-ups before Brentford's loss to Everton in September. The one small bit of fortune is that the bottom two teams in the league (Burnley, Sheffield United) are likely headed back down to the Championship. It's that third relegation spot that is giving us some panic!
New April date for Brighton: Brentford's match against Brighton has been rescheduled for April 3, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. ET. The match was previously scheduled for April 2.
RIP, Stan Bowles: Former Brentford footballer Stan Bowles recently passed away at the age of 75. He had been battling Alzheimer's disease since 2015. Greville Waterman wrote a piece for Bees United to pay homage to Bowles, who capped off his career with the Bees in the early 1980s.
Africa Cup of Nations: Brentford's Frank Onyeka and his Nigeria side finished runner-up in the Africa Cup of Nations. Though they had a 1-0 lead, Nigeria ended up falling 2-1 to Ivory Coast in the final on Feb. 11. Yoane Wissa and DR Congo took fourth in the event, and Wissa was named to the Africa Cup Team of the Tournament.
Quick Hits: If you happen to be in Florida in the coming days, the club is setting up a watch event with its partner Visit Tampa Bay on March 2. Former Bee Gary Blissett will be on site at MacDinton's Irish Pub, 405 S. Howard Ave., in Tampa, Fla. Click here to register. ... Feb. 20 marked one year since our first major media attention with the NYC Bees prevalently featured in The Athletic. I thought it was important to recognize how we have garnered dozens of media and content opportunities since that moment! ... Everton's points deduction for breach of league profitability and sustainability rules was reduced from 10 to six points, making things a bit more crowded for us at the bottom half of the league table. ... The Brentford FC Women posted a massive 14-0 victory against Camden & Islington United on Feb. 25!
Suggestions, Comments, Feedback
If you ever have any thoughts, feel free to email (brentfordnyc@gmail.com) or chat with me anytime! #COYB!
Charlie
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