NYC Bees reflect on Toney's international history on PL Fanzone

In our continuing connection with the Premier League Fanzone program, live on Peacock on Fridays, the NYC Bees and Charlie Corr joined the show on March 29 to discuss Brentford and the historical accomplishments of Ivan Toney.

Toney recently became the first Brentford player to ever score for the England national team, so we highlighted that feat. We also spoke about the Brentford-Manchester United matchup and its recent history that included a 4-0 trouncing during the 2022-23 season.

Fanzone is an international call-in show that is broadcasted live on the Premier League channel on Peacock. The show isn't archived or posted online. If you ever want to take part in the program, let us know and we'll connect you to the show in the future!

NYC Bees connect on Shades of Blue FanFest Live LIT stream

Our good friends at Shades of Blue (Manchester City) invited the NYC Bees' Charlie Corr to its FanFest Live #LITStream show on March 28 to talk Brentford football. The show's main host, Crunk Chocolate, has connected with us a couple times earlier this season on their Breaking Bread program for Brentford-Man City previews, and we also know him through the Premier League FanFest Live shows that have taken place in preseason and in December.

We join in the #LITStream approximately 30 minutes into the program. The highlight of the evening: We determined that Ivan Toney's bid should be £150 million! Good luck with the negotiating, Brentford!

NYC Bees make cameo appearance on Premier League Fanzone

NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr made a cameo appearance during the live Premier League Fanzone program on March 15. We provided a quick preview heading into Brentford's match against Burnley.

It marked our third appearance on the show this season. It's shown live on Peacock, but replays unfortunately are not archived.

If you're ever interested in sharing your Brentford knowledge and perspective, let us know and we can connect you to the show for a future appearance!

NYC Bees featured on NBC for 4th time this Premier League season

The NYC Bees Brentford FC supporters landed their fourth appearance on NBC this 2023-24 Premier League season. The group was featured during halftime of the American broadcast of Brentford-Arsenal on Saturday, March 9.

The Bees supporters have been a regular fixture on both NBC and USA Network broadcasts for the past several seasons, but not to the extent of this current campaign. The two other NBC match broadcasts included Brentford-Newcastle on Sept. 16, 2023, and Brentford-Everton on Sept. 23, 2023. Then on Nov. 11, 2023, the NYC Bees were among an exclusive group of USA-based supporters to wish happy birthday (video) to famed NBC Sports host Rebecca Lowe.

For Brentford fans itching to show their support on a telecast, simply use the #MyPLMorning hashtag on social media [typically Twitter (X) is the most successful medium] and your image might be selected for the broadcast!

Newsletter: March Madness, Watch Event 'Field Trip,' Breaking Bread

Hi NYC Bees, we're heading into a pivotal three-month stretch as we struggle to create some distance from the dreaded relegation zone! Here are some links and updates:

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.

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

Breaking Bread with Opposing Supporters
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

Guest Appearance: NYC Bees return to Shades of Blue to preview City

For the second time in a couple weeks, NYC Bees Co-Founder Charlie Corr represented Brentford FC and the NYC Bees during the live Shades of Blue show, "Breaking Bread," hosted by Crunk Chocolate. The two supporters, who were part of the Premier League FanFest series throughout the 2023-24 season, spoke about the upcoming rematch between Brentford and Manchester City on Feb. 20.

This discussion included a nice range of Brentford topics, from the club's affinity toward manager Thomas Frank to the blueprint for posting a strong result against City.

Corr and the NYC Bees will likely be represented one more time this season for another show within the Shades of Blue production, so stay tuned in the coming weeks.

NYC Bees: Corr makes third appearance on Forever Bees pod

NYC Bees co-founder Charlie Corr joined Tim Searls and Greville Waterman for the stateside-based Across the Seas But Forever Bees podcast on Feb. 6. The group took away some positives from Brentford's loss to Manchester City and provided a synopsis of the club heading into a difficult six-game stretch.

The podcast has featured New York-based fans prevalently over the past two and a half seasons, with Corr providing his perspective for a third time. Searls is based in Maine and Waterman in the UK, and Waterman has written a bevy of Brentford material over the years.

NYC Bees Appearance: Goyal previews Brentford on Wolves pod

In our continuation of contributing for Brentford's opposing team podcasts, the NYC Bees' Abhi Goyal made a second appearance on Whole Lotta Wolves on Feb. 6 as the Bees prepared for their final appearance of the season against Wolverhampton.

Goyal spoke about the different dynamic of the Brentford roster compared to the previous meet-ups with Wolves. The segment starts approximately 39 minutes into the show.