nearly man

Day is no longer one of this sport's nearly men.

Regularly talked up in the press, they have always been the nearly men of rock.

They were so nearly men, only weeks away from the dole and the free money that came with it.

As though he is getting all set to be theultimate nearly man.

Perhaps, though, after a closer look Clarke's team of 2013, they could also be remembered as nearly men.

Although dominant at European level, he seemed destined to be a nearly man on the world stage.

Murray didn't settle for being a rich and celebrated nearly man.

Some may say that Michael Owen was a nearly man.

The trait is even common among the nearly men of US politics.

But he never got that Olympic gold, and will forever be known as a nearly man who spread himself a little too thin.

Until the middle of last year, Verdasco could be termed very much a nearly man.

So often the nearly men in recent years, just missing out on honours, this success was long overdue.

He has become the nearly man of English cricket.

In the past 12 months, Murray has transformed himself from the nearly man of tennis into a national hero.

And who wants to be a nearly man?

Rather like the national side, Leinster were nearly men.

They’ve bought badly and have ended up with a lot of has beens or nearly men.

There was, though, a real danger that he was destined to be one of the game's nearly men.

The view that this was a team of nearly men had gone by the wayside long before half-time.

The most successful of a long list of great British nearly men in judo.

Both know the difficulty of being nearly men.

Such are the minutiae that have filled the life of the nearly man for the past fortnight.

Is Garcia going to be a nearly man?

The lurking danger of being the nearly man has been in the background for Baines already this year.

Sutcliffe has always been marketed as the quintessential nearly man, almost famous.