Newsletter: October Dates, NYC Spotlight on Fanzone, Club Channels

Hi NYC Bees, September turned out to be a jam-packed month! We garnered some fantastic recognition from Premier League Fanzone and Brentford FC's official channels. And the club's fast starts are rewriting the league record books. Here is some information to catch you up, and to prepare you for October!

Man United, 4th-round Carabao Cup in October
Our October schedule includes three Premier League matches, followed by a fourth-round fixture in the Carabao Cup. Our Oct. 19 game at Old Trafford against Manchester United is our highest-profile fixture of the bunch, and we will host newly promoted Ipswich Town on Oct. 26. Wolves are up next for us, on Oct. 5. Now that we are one of the final 16 teams in the Carabao Cup, we'll make any further matches an "official" meet-up at the pub! Brentford will host Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday, Oct. 29. See the graphic for this month's schedule at The Red Lion, 151 Bleecker St.

More on NYC Bees: Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Media Hub

NYC Bees featured on PL Fanzone on Peacock
This past month was our busiest media representation since we've formed this supporters' group! One of the biggest highlights was the opportunity to make multiple appearances on Premier League Fanzone on Peacock. The top billing was an interview and feature of our group and The Red Lion on Sept. 16. I'm glad we were able to showcase a little more beyond what we've pushed out on social media. Thanks for your continued support, we wouldn't have this type of media spot if it wasn't for you regularly joining us week in and week out!

Capping off our three Fanzone appearances in eight days was Dan Mitzelman making his show debut on Sept. 20! We'll try and get you and some others more air time moving forward!

Brentford FC Fan Spotlight: NYC Bees
If you browsed any of Brentford FC's official social media channels (X, Instagram, Facebook), you might have noticed that the NYC Bees were included as the club's Fan Spotlight on Sept. 20! The graphic included a little shout-out to us: "Our New York City Bees meet rain or shine to cheer on the team from across the pond!" ... 100 percent accurate!

Return appearances on Forever Bees, Shades of Blue
The USA-based Across the Seas But Forever Bees podcast is back on our radar. I joined Tim Searls and Greville Waterman on Sept. 19 to chat with them following our midweek Carabao Cup advancement and a hard-fought match at Man City. And speaking of City, for a second straight season I connected with Shades of Blue and the "Breaking Bread" show. The host, Crunk Chocolate, along with fellow City supporter Lando Martinez, invited me back to preview Brentford-Man City on Sept. 10.

The Forever Bees podcast is always on the lookout for guests, particularly U.S.-based Brentford supporters; it's a nice outlet to chat about the club and our Bees fandom, so if any of you are interested, please let me know!

Brentford News & Notes
Premier League record with early tallies: The highlights of the season are unquestionably Brentford's three straight weekends with a goal in the opening minute of their respective fixtures in September. It marks the first time this has EVER been accomplished in league history. Yoane Wissa headed home a go-ahead goal at Manchester City on Sept. 14, needing just 22 seconds to score. The following week, Bryan Mbeumo gave the Bees a 1-0 lead over Tottenham in just 23 seconds with his left-footed drive. And finally, in carbon-copy fashion, Mbeumo struck another goal in 38 seconds against West Ham on Sept. 28 en route to a 1-1 draw.

Mbeumo tops Brentford's EPL goal involvement list: Brentford has a new leader when it comes to goal involvement (goals, assists) in the Premier League. Bryan Mbeumo just set the club mark with 48 (22 goals, 26 assists), following his goal against West Ham. He passed the previous mark of 47 set by Ivan Toney (36 goals, 11 assists). Mbeumo recently reached another league achievement: The match against Tottenham marked his 100th Premier League appearance.

Wissa added to growing injury list: The excitement of Yoane Wissa scoring a first-minute goal evaporated quickly when he was injured in the first half by Man City's Mateo Kovacic on Sept. 14. Manager Thomas Frank said Wissa would be out for "a couple of months" because of an ankle injury. Brentford went into the final weekend of September as the most-injured team in the Premier League with nine first-team players sidelined.

Quick hits: Brentford's November fixture against Fulham was changed for broadcast purposes. The two sides will now face each other on Nov. 4 at Craven College (previously it was scheduled for Nov. 2). ... Fabio Carvalho scored an overhead kick goal and assisted two others to lead Brentford to a 3-1 victory over Leyton Orient in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Sept. 17. Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard also scored first-half goals as the Bees overcame an early deficit to advance in the tournament. ... The Brentford Women on Sunday returned to Gtech Community Stadium for the first time since March and delivered a resounding 7-0 victory over Clapton in front of 3,585 spectators. Ashley Cheatley led the way with a hat trick.

Looking for regular Brentford podcast chatter?
USA:

• Across the Seas But Forever Bees, with Tim Searls and Greville Waterman (based in Maine/London)
• BFC Pod, with Becks and Brady (based in St. Louis)

UK:

• Beesotted Brentford Pride of West London
• The Ealing Road Podcast

Suggestions, Comments, Feedback
If you ever have any thoughts, feel free to email (brentfordnyc@gmail.com) or chat with me anytime! #COYB!

Charlie

NYC Bees group, Red Lion featured on PL Fanzone on Peacock

New York City's Brentford FC supporters' group, along with the host pub, were featured during the Sept. 16 showing of Premier League Fanzone, live on Peacock. The program ran some footage of the NYC Bees' home, The Red Lion in Greenwich Village (151 Bleecker St.), followed by an interview with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr. 

The glimpse into the pub was captured during the Sept. 14 match between Brentford and defending champions Manchester City. Anita Nneka Jones and Leroy Rosenior host the Monday edition of Fanzone, which was the first time our supporters' group was involved with that day's proceedings.

This appearance was sandwiched in between a pair of Friday Fanzones, which have been commonplace for our group (five times during the 2023-24 season). Heading into the weekend we made a cameo appearance during the Sept. 13 show with Will Perry and former Brentford loanee Clinton Morrison. On Sept. 20, NYC Bees' Dan Mitzelman made his show debut to cap off that day's supporter commentary.

It marked the busiest stretch for us on Peacock to make three appearances in an eight-day period!

Brentford FC Fan Spotlight feature: The New York City Bees

Our NYC Bees were featured in Brentford FC's Fan Spotlight on Sept. 20, a day before the club's match against Tottenham. The club's official social media channels (X, Instagram, Facebook) touted the hard work put into our group, with a graphic that read: "Our New York City Bees meet rain or shine to cheer on the team from across the pond!"

It was a grand gesture for our NYC group, and we look forward to other Brentford supporters' groups earning this type of recognition.

NYC Bees join Forever Bees after Man City, Carabao Cup advancement

NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr rejoined the Across the Seas But Forever Bees podcast on Sept. 19. This show followed Brentford's successful week that included a hard-fought match against Manchester City and Carabao Cup advancement against Leyton Orient.

The show, hosted by Tim Searls and Greville Waterman, included some interesting topics, such as Thomas Frank's future as manager, Brentford's defensive schemes and personnel, playing without Yoane Wissa and much more.

This marked Corr's fourth appearance on ASFC, which has been a staple for our USA-based supporters since Brentford has been in the Premier League.

Preview: Brentford at Man City, on Shades of Blue's 'Breaking Bread'

For a second straight season, we're previewing Brentford matches against Manchester City on the Shades of Blue "Breaking Bread" show. NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr connected with Crunk Chocolate and Lando Martinez to talk about the Bees. Topics included the big matchup, Brentford's transfer window grade, some individual season picks on who will have a strong season for the Bee, and the aspects of what have made Brentford a difficult matchup against Man City.

The program was a build-up toward the Sept. 14 match, which resulted in a 2-1 Man City victory -- the correct score prediction from our Brentford guest.

Newsletter: September Slate, BBC Appearance, Toney Saga Ends

Hello NYC Bees, we're back into the swing of things now! Here are some bits of news, media hits and information as we gear up for September!

Three-game PL slate in September, starting with Man City
We have a two-week break because of the international football window, but we'll resume our Premier League slate starting on Sept. 14 at the defending champions, Manchester City. All three September league matches kick off at 10 a.m. ET. When the team confirms specifics, there also might be an opportunity to get together to watch Brentford's third-round Carabao Cup action against Leyton Orient in mid-September, if there's interest. See the graphic for the full schedule this month at The Red Lion, 151 Bleecker St.

More on NYC Bees: Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Media Hub

Debut on BBC Sports' Sunday Sportsworld
We're stepping things up a bit already in the media space! I had the privilege to join BBC Sports live for their Sunday Sportsworld program in the minutes leading up toward Brentford's kickoff against Liverpool on Aug. 25. It was part of a new panel segment, so I had the chance to drum up the Brentford side of things just before our watch at The Red Lion. Sunday games are few and far between for Brentford, but when this timing works out in the future, BBC Sports will likely invite us back for this. It was good to get this one in the books (they reach about 40 million people globally per week), and the producer was incredibly complimentary on how our 15-minute segment went. If you're interested and would like to get involved, please let me know! The show is broadcast live via BBC World Service.

Brentford News & Notes
Toney headed to Saudi Arabia: The Ivan Toney saga has finally come to a close. The England striker is joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Hali, with Brentford receiving a reported £40 million transfer fee. Toney had not featured for the Bees this season and missed a large part of the 2023-24 campaign serving a suspension for breaching The FA's football betting rules. While Toney did play a highly crucial role in Brentford's promotion, and he contributed a 20-goal season en route to a ninth-place finish in 2022-23, the drama over the past year and various off-field commentary/behavior tended to cloud things during his tenure. We wish him the best, and we thank him for his massive role in the club, but this was not the next chapter (nor sendoff) that we wanted to see for a player who still has plenty of high-level football in him.

Club makes signing splash: After an incredibly quiet summer, Brentford made a handful of significant signings throughout the final few weeks of August. The most noteworthy additions are a pair of 22-year-old former Liverpool players: defender Sepp van den Berg and midfielder Fabio Carvalho. Both impressed during their respective loan spells. Van den Berg established himself as one of the top German Bundesliga center backs at Mainz 05, and Carvalho showcased his goal-scoring prowess at Hull City, earning an EFL Young Player of the Month honor during his 2024 stint. Both players signed five-year contracts with the Bees. Brazilian 18-year-old forward Gustavo Nunes and England youth international and 18-year-old left back Jayden Meghoma were also among Brentford's signings in the transfer window.

Hickey out for longer spell; Henry nears return: Our outside backs situation received some mixed news. Right back Aaron Hickey is now going to miss the majority of 2024-25. After a crutches photo made the social media rounds, the club promptly addressed the fact that Hickey's hamstring injury will now keep him off the pitch for nearly another season. Left back Rico Henry, fortunately, seems to be getting close to a return from his knee injury. He is scheduled to play in a closed-door friendly on Wednesday, Sept. 4. If Henry has a strong performance and continues to participate in full training, hopefully we will see him in league play within a couple weeks after the current international break. Fingers crossed for his return!

Bees off to best Premier League start: Three games don't make a season, but Brentford supporters have to savor the fact that the club is off to its best start in the Premier League. With six points through three matches, the Bees were sitting in fifth place in the table after Saturday's 3-1 victory against Southampton (now in sixth place after Sunday's completed matches). By comparison, it took Brentford four games to reach six points in 2023-24, and five games to hit that points total in 2022-23. We're on the upswing!

Quick hits: The Brentford Women posted their biggest win ever, dominating North Leigh 18-1 in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Three different players scored four goals: Ashley Cheatley, Chloe Logie and Nikki Woods. ... Led by a Keane Lewis-Potter goal and a late Hakon Valdimarsson penalty kick save, Brentford edged Colchester United 1-0 in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Aug. 28. ... Among other Brentford player news, midfielder Frank Onyeka has joined Bundesliga side Augsburg on a season-long loan to get him some minutes. ... Midfielder Myles Peart-Harris is going to play for Championship side Swansea City for 2024-25, on a loan. ... Earlier in August, defender Zanka signed with Anderlecht of the Belgian Pro League. ... The 10th Premier League Mornings Live Fan Fest is going on from Sept. 21-22 in Lincoln Park, in Chicago. If you're interested in attending, register here.

Suggestions, Comments, Feedback
If you ever have any thoughts, feel free to email (brentfordnyc@gmail.com) or chat with me anytime! #COYB!

Charlie