The trouble for Netball NZ is they claim to have a plan.
The reality, of course, is we may or may not ever know what happened to the previous plan – the Williams-Mowbray plan.
That plan looked set to go. Most of us didn't have a clue what was in it, nor do we care. But we know the names Mowbray and Williams. We know they have lots of money. We probably knew they were in it for the right reasons. We also knew Netball NZ is a mess, and the sport is in dire straits.
So at that point, we most likely concluded there was a bit of hope.
Until there wasn't, which was Friday's news.
What didn't help on Friday was the seeming surprise from Williams, who apparently didn't see anything coming.
Then on Friday night I watched netballers crying, as well they might.
Personally, I would have cried before that, and for all I know some have. Because as an elite player I would have buggered off months back, probably when they shafted Noeline, who by anyone's measure is the G.O.A.T. The way she was treated defied belief.
Anyway, after the players cried, they got an apology from Netball NZ, which said it regretted news of the Williams-Mowbray deal being tanked, leaking out.
Places that leak, in my experience, generally aren't run well.
So by yesterday, the new CEO of Netball NZ, Ms Wootten, having said her sorrys, then announced they had a plan.
Here is the truth: I hope she does and I hope it's good because we live in a day and age in which stuff, rightly or wrongly, is dispensable. Yes, we will gnash our teeth and bemoan our plight, but once something is gone, we all move on.
Netball at the top level is on the verge of collapse.
There is no money. There is no TV. There is a limited audience, and kids have a world of choice when it comes to balls and running around.
To put it bluntly, no one really cares. Make it work or don't.
Williams and Mowbray seemed to be there for the right reasons. The deal may have been jettisoned for the right reasons.
But the ball is back in the same old court.
And that court has failed to produce anything other than more trouble.
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