Many visitors to an English country garden can get somewhat confused between which buildings are gazebos and which are follies.
And that’s not just because they are idiots.
It’s also because it can often be a fine line between the two. One small change in the parameters and they blend and shape before our eyes becoming both each other and each other’s opposite.
It’s like a really crap version of “Dr Strange”.
But, for the sake of clarity, a gazebo is a pavilion or summerhouse designed for a specific purpose; either to entertain guests, to provide shade or even just offer a well positioned viewing area to take in the majesty of the blooms upon display.
A folly on the other hand is a structure designed to appear to be something it isn’t.
The facade of a castle turret perhaps, the front of a Greek temple.
But when a folly resembles a gazebo and is subsequently used in the manner of a gazebo then all bets are off.
Then you can call it what you want and nobody will really care.
Time then for the Soccer Shorts player ratings.
Just kidding, because we still have the Vancouver Whitecaps incredibly useful 2-1 win in Orlando to consider.
These are the main facts.
The Whitecaps were out possessed, out shot and out passed and, on another day, could have lost by two or three goals.
Yet on another day again they could have finished a couple of their break away chances and won by two or three goals themselves.
There’s just no logic in it.
Kudos though to Carl Robinson for making a number of changes almost all of which paid off in one way or another.
Aaron Maund was solid in place of the injured Tim Parker, Marcel de Jong was excellent in a central midfield role, Jake Nerwinski was a significant upgrade on Sheannon Williams at right back and Stefan Marinovic was a more than adequate David Ousted replacement.
And while Hurtado, Shea and Ibini mostly offered little of substance going forward the former pair linked up well for Shea’s decisive goal in the second half.
And this was just the kind of game that Nicolas Mezquida is in the squad for; sixty minutes of harrying and closing down the opposition with the bonus of a quality free-kick that earned the first goal from an Orlando head.
The subsequent arrival of Davies, Montero and Reyna seemed set to guarantee Vancouver the comfort of a third goal given how open the hosts were at the back as they pressed for the equalizer but time and time again the wrong final option was chosen.
A shot that needed a pass, a blast that needed a calmer head.
But they hung on and suddenly Wednesday’s near debacle against Seattle seems a far more distant memory.
Carl Robinson now has two weeks to figure out how to get the best out of his players when they play at BC Place.
The lessons from the season so far seem to indicate that rewarding players for the previous game isn’t really working. Not sure why that is but that’s what the evidence points to.
But neither do we want to see change purely for the sake of change.
So maybe the coach needs to approach the selection for every game based on which eleven starters will line up best against the opponent that week?
There’s a danger in constantly shaping a side to fit the opposition but this Whitecaps team seems to function better when reacting to events rather than instigating them.
Or maybe Robinson should just draw all the names out of a hat and see what happens?
That could work too.
Safe to say though that while the three points in Florida are huge (and makes the playoffs a far, far more likely scenario than it was this time yesterday) we still don’t really know if what we’ve got with this team is a fully functioning gazebo or an empty and functionless folly that, from certain angles, can look very convincing indeed.
Now it really is time for the Soccer Shorts player ratings.
Marinovic-6.5, Nerwinski-6.5, Harvey-6.5, Waston-7*, Maund-6.5, Teibert-6, de Jong-6.5, Ibini-6, Shea-6, Mezquida-6.5, Hurtado-6 (Davies-6.5, Montero-6, Reyna-6)
Soccer Shorts (The Director's Cut) 