Greatest-ever nearly men

[Antepli Ejderha]

Greatest-ever nearly men

Douze Points Rouges wrote:

Didn't that Ipswich team win the UEFA Cup?

Coming into the last weeks of the season Ipswich were in line for the league, FA Cup and UEFA Cup. The amount of games they played, 61 in the season, and the number of players used, 18 in total, meant that they could not compete on all fronts. The UEFA Cup win featured wins over Köln and St Etienne to name but two so I think nearly men is right, they nearly won the treble which would have been an amazing success at that time in football.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

Greatest-ever nearly men

Diable Rouge wrote:

3. Seán Kelly (several World Championships but no Tour)

Well, that hardly qualifies him as a nearly man. The World Championships and the Tour a two wholly different games.

[Wyatt Earp]

Greatest-ever nearly men

Janik wrote:

kugelrund wrote:

Connors and Agassi were around at either end of his career - but the "robotic" / "machine-like" epithets were only aimed at Lendl.

Connors didn't play the same way, though. He used much flatter shots with less spin, basically because he developed his game before modern composite racquets came into being. Lendl was the first 'modern' player, using shots with lots of clearance over the net, hit hard with oodles of top spin to bring them safely back down into court. There was much more risk of missing in Connors shots than there ever was for Lendl.

That's the sort of insight that, if it were heard more often from commentators, could help me get into tennis.

[Borracho]

Greatest-ever nearly men

Leeds United finished second a lot under Revie, something like five times in the league alone. Then there was the 1975 European Cup final.

[Gerontophile]

Greatest-ever nearly men

satchmo76 wrote:

At Wimbledon:

Betty Stove (3 finals in 1977, all lost)
possibly, but 10 GS doubles titles, and so much better than that year.

Rosewall
No, sorry, not even close. Forget '74 Wimbledon, he was 150 years old, then.

Mandlikova
Definitely won the French, and possibly the US? So, no.

Rafter
Won the US.

Teams:

QPR 1976
Fair enough

Ipswich 1981
Nope. UEFA Cup or something (possibly thinking about 1976... forgive me)

Newcastle 1996
Who?

St Etienne mid-70's
Again, fair enough, but they won the French League to get there, and were almost kicked off the park.

Hungary 1954
too little, too late. History says Germany were always going to win this one.

Holland 1974
Germany were better in the final, no matter who tells you otherwise (functional and quality beats quality everytime)

USSR 1988
This one is my favourite. If I had a favourite all time player, he is Rinat Dasaeev of the CCCP, and he is the best goalkeeper I ever saw, live, twice. If he doesnt save van Basten's goal, NO-ONE does. That isnt a flaw.

Sorry satchmo, nothing personal. Your footballing ideas are plausible, but your knowledge of tennis is not the best.

*edit and yes, sorry, I just realised you were specifically talking about Wimbledon, but if you go there, there are LOADS more (Monica Seles, Gabriela Sabatini and more importantly Roscoe Tanner, Ilie Nastase) who have a better case for being there than your choices, although I now see what you meant, and apologise if you think I am having a go at you. I'm not. Sorry.

[Gerontophile]

Greatest-ever nearly men

oh, and Arantxa. Fucking hell, how can I forget Arantxa!

[The Exploding Vole]

Greatest-ever nearly men

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but St. Johnstone have reached eight Scottish Cup semifinals and lost every time. I can't imagine that's been bettered (or unbettered) anywhere.

[Guest]

Greatest-ever nearly men

If you're a nearly man for not winning a particular tennis grand slam then Bjorn Borg - 4 US Open final defeats, all to Americans.

[Guest]

Greatest-ever nearly men

satchmo76 wrote:

Teams:

QPR 1976

Ipswich 1981

Newcastle 1996

St Etienne mid-70's

Hungary 1954

Holland 1974

USSR 1988

Dundee United 86/87.

[Gerontophile]

Greatest-ever nearly men

Actually, with Dundee United, every year.