I have just finished working the tattered remains of my sneakers into something that resembles modern footwear mixed with budget steam punk and galvanised steel flashing. The process essentially involved cutting and drilling a piece of scrap metal to fit over the plastic bit that the laces thread through. This then was pop riveted onto the shoe, holding the lace block securely in place. Final stage involved replacing the original laces (two years old and so broken that parts had to be cut free of the shoe) with what ever could be found in the old boot polish box. Luckily, there were some rather nice boot laces of indeterminate origin.

The result - my foot looks like a shite tradesman's apprentice attacked it with what ever was closest to him in a fit of constructive rage. But it was free.