{"id":7979,"date":"2023-06-17T09:54:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T08:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=7979"},"modified":"2023-09-21T04:35:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T03:35:00","slug":"the-drinks-are-on-the-high-bar-as-ghf-outperforms-g7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=7979","title":{"rendered":"The Drinks Are On The High Bar As GHF Outperforms G7!!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lauri Patterson \/ Getty Images <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The HolicsRopeyLeague!!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In accordance with the time-honoured traditions of the service here at GoonerholicsForever we are following up TTG\u2019s excellent in-depth end of season review with a brief trip to the land of fantasy and wonder that was, if memory serves, the 93rd<\/sup> edition of the HolicsRopeyLeague. In this fantasy land there are only two rules, every team requires an Arsenal player and nary an elf<\/s> spud must be seen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned in the title GHF once again outperformed every G7 economy as 14 runners were loaded in the stalls this time, an astonishing 40% increase from the 21-22 season!  The usual collection of highly-seasoned holics were joined this time by Depressed Gooner, Up4GrabsNow, Lonestar and Young Lonestar in the merry month of er.. August and we set off on our 38-week trek across more fences than the Grand National. A strained analogy perhaps, though one did suffer from hold-ups because of some absurd fanatics who wanted to promote their radical views and I heard the Grand National had issues too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elbows flew left and right in the early season jostle before The Mikelin Stars dinosaured their way into an early lead. Now I know what you\u2019re thinking \u2013 did dinosaurs even have elbows? But worry not, this isn\u2019t Fox News and extensive research has shown they absolutely did. By the time of the World Cup hiatus however, the technical wizardry of ATG had seen Polonia Bytom FC posing the question to the pursuing horde of ravenous holics. We answered by turning the league off and then turning it on again in December. As Winter ground inexorably on and the old titans fell away it came down to the final few. High Bar had taken the lead in December and battled nip and tuck with ATG and an elite force of Kentish Vikings but just behind there was something stirring in the East.  Whilst not quite a sleepless malice, the beady, greedy eye of the Ovinae having set its sights upon the ultimate prize, hovered a while and then pounced in March (seriously? sheep do not hover or pounce, Ed.). A furious fight to the finish through April and May ensued before your writer, in the guise of High Bar, eventually triumphed by the slender margin of 9 points. Ultimate Sheep, managed by Young OM, made it a family one-two and that staunch Scandinavian, TTG, finished a respectable third. To finish off the season, as you may have already seen in the drinks, the first-ever HolicsRopeyLeagueConference Cup was won by Los Tejas Gooners after a thrilling stomp through fields of giants proved the truth of the golden oldie \u201cthe bigger they are the harder they fall\u201d. It really was up4grabsnow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a matter of tegriddy, I would note that as organiser of our august competition I felt it only right and proper to decline The Management\u2019s kindly offered prize of a case of 1964 Chateau Petrus and a Peerage. We all know service is its own reward \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers to one and all for a fun competition \u2013 the drinks are on the High Bar!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new Predicatathon from GHF!!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From next season I am happy to say there will another opportunity to put your best wits forward against your fellow \u2018holics in a new competition\u2026..and TTG is here to tell you all about it below. Take it away, TTG!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are introducing a prediction competition for ‘holics for next season. The object is to predict in which position the 20 Premier League teams will finish the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ned will send you an entry blank in late July. All you have to do is rank the teams in the positions you think they will occupy at the end of next season. He must receive your completed entry before the first match kicks off on August 12. There is no opportunity to revise your predictions once you have submitted them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will score your predictions using a calculation based on squared differences between actual and predicted positions. The player with the lowest total score wins. We will produce regular updates to enable you to follow your fortunes over the season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The calculation methodology has been used successfully in a competition called ‘The Aficionados’, which has been running for 20 years (and involves several mathematicians and actuaries who are satisfied with the soundness of the calculation). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entry fee will be \u00a310. All money collected will go to Willow via TTG, who will act as a banker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aficionados also have an additional competition (entry fee \u00a35) which enables competitors to pick who will be the first Premier League manager to be sacked. If there is an appetite for this to be added, it will let us increase our donation to Willow by 50%! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope all ‘holics will enjoy this new competition, which provides enjoyment and interest throughout the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The HolicsRopeyLeague!! In accordance with the time-honoured traditions of the service here at GoonerholicsForever we are following up TTG\u2019s excellent in-depth end of season review with a brief trip to the land of fantasy and wonder that was, if memory serves, the 93rd edition of the HolicsRopeyLeague. In this fantasy land there are only two rules, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7979"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7985,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7979\/revisions\/7985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}