Lack of preparation, ill luck and the absence of good replacement players, say most commentators.

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Lord Lawson, it is true, was partly a victim of ill luck: when he loosened policy in 1987-88, few (least of all official statisticians) knew how strong the economy already was.

ECONOMIST: The economy

But the most dreadful ill-luck pursued me.

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For although he made much of his fortune for himself, by founding an engineering firm called TransTec, Mr Robinson's career was forever altered, for both good and ill, by one extraordinary stroke of luck.

ECONOMIST: The