NYC Bees guest appearance: Shades of Blue Network's LIT Stream

NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr appeared on the Jan. 30 live broadcast of Shades of Blue's LIT Stream. It capped off our second season joining their platform, which is mostly a Manchester City-focused channel and led by Crunk Chocolate.

The LIT Stream deviates from our normal game speak, but we still ended up chatting about a heavy dose of Brentford football. Topics ranged from the transfer deadline, to clubs undervaluing the potential sale of Bees players, to revered manager Thomas Frank who always seems to come up on these discussions!

For any Brentford fans interested in joining this show or others down the road to voice your fandom, please reach out and we'd be happy to make the connections.

Newsletter: February schedule, feature live on PL platforms

Hi again NYC Bees, it's been an exciting past month: The club posted its most decisive win in Premier League history. We rallied from two goals down for a result against the defending champions. Brentford has made a handful of roster moves in January. And, we're generating tens of thousands of hits with an NYC Bees-related feature on the league's social media platforms! Here's some news and updates for you.

February schedule vs. bottom half of table
Brentford's February schedule features four games against sides jockeying for position among the bottom half of the table, so it's a big chance to create some distance from them. One of the most difficult could be the Bees' home match against fellow London side Tottenham on Feb. 2, which kicks off at 9 a.m. ET on a Sunday. The Red Lion will open early for us, so that means we're at the pub for every February match! See the graphic for our full itinerary at The Red Lion, 151 Bleecker St.

More on NYC Bees:
Social: Bluesky | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok | X
Media Hub: SlideTackles.com

Feature is live: PL Matchdays Together with Guinness
The much anticipated feature on the NYC Bees, from The Red Lion, dropped in early January! COPA90 media filmed us and a few other NYC-based supporters groups in mid-December for Premier League Matchdays Together with Guinness. NYC Bees Dan Mitzelman and Alison Roberts made the final cut, and I spoke with host Nakeira West from nearby Washington Square Park. The YouTube version should surpass 100,000 hits one of these days. Check it out! We even had a couple cameos when the league posted a montage of this series on Jan. 24. It was incredibly satisfying to add some public color to this fantastic group of supporters, and fortunately the league distributed this piece to their massive followings on Instagram (77 million), X (45 million) and YouTube (8 million).

And ... more could be on the way! The Brentford front office is supposedly in the process of trying to attain all this footage and the plethora of unused footage to create a video of their own. If I hear anything more, I'll share with the group!

Mbeumo, Brentford post club's most-lopsided PL win
A defining January moment for Brentford was the club's lopsided 5-0 victory against Southampton on Jan. 4. It was the largest win in the Bees' Premier League tenure, and it happened to be a long-awaited first road victory this season. Bryan Mbeumo led the way with a brace, and manager Thomas Frank called it "one of the best performances we've had in the four years in the Premier League."

Forever Bees, Shades of Blue pods among media drop-ins
We dropped in with a couple of our familiar podcast folks in January to chat a little Brentford football. After a hiatus over the holidays, the Across the Seas But Forever Bees show returned, so I spoke with Tim Searls and Greville Waterman following our draw against Man City. Earlier in the month, I previewed Brentford-City with the Shades of Blue podcast. The first 15 minutes of their Breaking Bread show are free; the show is making some of their programming exclusive, so check out their Patreon for more of their content.

If you're ever interested in participating in some shows, whether it's a local Brentford platform like Forever Bees, to bigger programs like Premier League Fanzone live on Peacock, please let me know and I can connect you. Would love to hear some new voices out there!

Upcoming: Shades of Blue LIT Stream | Jan. 30 | 8 p.m. ET (live)

Brentford News & Notes
Statement comeback against City: In the midst of Manchester City allegedly turning a corner, the Bees disrupted the defending league champion's momentum with a 2-2 draw on Jan. 14 at Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford overcame a second-half, two-goal deficit with late tallies from Yoane Wissa and captain Christian Norgaard. It marked Brentford's first shared points against City in the Premier League.

January window, signings: Most didn't peg Brentford for being too active in the January Transfer Window, but the club has made its share of roster moves during this stretch. The most important move was the long-term commitment with midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard, who extended his contract through the 2029-30 season. Damsgaard certainly is making his case as the team's MVP for this campaign, so securing the 24-year-old with the Bees was a sound move. The transaction that probably grabbed the headlines was Brentford's loan acquisition of Michael Kayode from Serie A's Fiorentina. The 20-year-old fills a hole at right back, and the club has an option to make this transfer permanent. Shortly after the Kayode signing, Brentford loaned defender Mads Roerslev to German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg through the end of 2024-25. Keane Lewis-Potter signed a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2030-31 season, a nice reward for someone who has bailed us out with his versatility, to fill a massive voice in the defensive end in the midst of our ongoing injury crisis. Brentford also extended the contract for right back Aaron Hickey, who is now signed through the 2027-28 season. Hickey has been out for more than a year, and is currently trying to work his way back from a hamstring injury.

Meghoma loaned to Preston: Teenage left back and England youth international Jayden Meghoma has joined Championship side Preston North End on a loan through the end of the 2024-25 season. Meghoma has made several first-team appearances in the Carabao Cup, and a Premier League debut as a sub against Chelsea in December. Backup goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe returns to Scotland on a loan with Motherwell for the remainder of 2024-25. Defender Tristan Crama is joining Championship club Millwall, after spending four years with the Brentford B team.

Quick hits: While there were plenty of good January highlights, there was one massively disappointing one, and that was Brentford's 1-0 home loss to Plymouth Argyle in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup on Jan. 11. The game did mark the long-awaited return of left back Rico Henry, but the result dampened the moment. ... A couple of our NYC Bees photos made it into Brentford's We Make Our Own Way video. They might be tough to spot in real time, but we screenshotted those for you! ... Not Brentford-related, but a couple of us had the privilege of joining an exclusive Men In Blazers show from Football Factory on Jan. 21; always worthwhile to interact with the most influential, independent football-focused media group in North America!

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 cameos on PL Matchdays Together with Guinness montage

The NYC Brentford supporters are riding a nice wave of publicity by the Premier League. On Jan. 24, the NYC Bees had a couple cameos in the latest montage of the PL Matchdays Together with Guinness series.

In mid-December, COPA90 media dropped into The Red Lion to feature our supporters' group and we had the good fortune of featuring in this series!

Men in Blazers, Live from New York: U.S. MNT, 2026 FIFA World Cup

Men in Blazers held an exclusive live event on Jan. 21 from Football Factory at Legends in New York City. Invited attendees were treated to a fantastic setting with Roger Bennett and Herculez Gomez chatting about the U.S. Men's National Team, which is roughly 500 days away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A couple of us NYC-based Brentford supporters had the privilege of being among the audience, so THANK YOU to Men in Blazers for reaching out so we can join in the fun!

NYC Bees take part in Forever Bees podcast's return from holidays

After a hiatus over the holidays, the Across the Seas But Forever Bees show returned on Jan. 16. NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr spoke with hosts Tim Searls and Greville Waterman following Brentford's draw against Manchester City.

Topics ranged from the club's play, to the January Transfer Window chatter, to a recently banned piece of apparel at our NYC pub, The Red Lion! Hope you enjoy!

NYC Bees appear in Brentford FC's We Make Our Own Way video

Brentford FC put together a nice montage-style video called We Make Our Own Way, which was posted in mid-January. The sub-2-minute piece was a strong portrayal of what the club represents, and it was great to see that they included the growing fandom as part of it. Our NYC Bees made a couple appearances, too!

It's difficult to spot in real time, so we provided a couple screenshots for you here!

Shades of Blue's Breaking Bread Preview: Brentford v Manchester City

NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr spoke with the Shades of Blue podcast in mid-January as part of a preview for Brentford-Manchester City. The Breaking Bread show, hosted by Crunk Chocolate, has become a staple of our podcast drop-ins over the past couple seasons.

The first 15 minutes of the Breaking Bread show are free. Shades of Blue is making some of their programming exclusive, so check out their Patreon for more of their content!

NYC Bees feature: Premier League Matchdays Together with Guinness

The NYC Bees were featured in one of its most high-profile pieces since our group was formed. Our Brentford supporters group took part in the Premier League Matchdays Together with Guinness, with several interviews and footage from our pub, The Red Lion, in Greenwich Village!

Hosted by Nakeira West, the COPA90-produced project included chats with NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr from nearby Washington Square Park, shorter conversations with fellow NYC Bees Dan Mitzelman and Alison Roberts from outside the pub, and of course a drop-in of our Brentford-Chelsea watch event on Dec. 15. We drew more than 30 fans that afternoon.

The Premier League filtered this video and other snippets through their social media platforms, which is naturally a big boost for us. The PL has a massive following on Instagram (76.5 million followers), X (45 million followers) and YouTube (7.9 million subscribers).

Thank you to all our supporters for repping Brentford in New York City, the piece turned out great!