Destroy it yourself

It’s taking forever, bit I think the work in the shower cubicle is nearly finished. Admittedly, had we actually put in the effort it could have been finished ages ago, but having a separate bath with its own shower head in it, meant that it was not so inconvenient as to force us to crack on with the work at the speed we really should have done.

I have finished grouting, I have finished re-grouting. I have finished the additional grouting that became necessary once it became apparent that the old sealant was both more pervasive than I thought initially and, like Charlie in the undergrowth, willing to fight for every last millimetre of ground. And every time I thought I had it all, I would find more that would in turn wrench out another piece of grout, so I cleared that and re-grouted that, too.

I have sanded, tidied, vacuumed the dust, retouched and sprayed tile and grout sealant (not the same stuff as the indestructible strip you put along the joints); I have wiped the area down with methylated spirits. Tonight I shall give the lower tiles a final spray, let them dry and hopefully apply the strip of rubber sealant. Then the shower cubicle will be ready for use again.

I just hope that I have found and plugged all the gaps. The tiles I put back on aren’t coming off in a hurry…

I watched some football.

I have actually watched a couple of games in Euro2012. Usually when a tournament such as the European Championship or the World Cup is playing, I am hooked, but this time around it’s left me cold. I don’t quite know why, unless I am still, at some level, in a funk over Wolves curling up and dying before getting relegated this past season.

I have appreciated the lack of hype from the press, though. Or to be more accurate, if there has been any, it has blissfully passed me by. Usually, with a couple of months to go, the red tops are full of painstakingly speculative articles about how the England team are currently well placed to a) prove their superiority over the continent/world, b) the finest bunch of players we can breed without cloning, c) destined to win through the law of averages, or some such rot. It’s always drivel and for once even the press has been unable to forget how the team just rolled over and counted its bonuses in the South Africa World Cup two years ago. The FA too, are for once, to be applauded, along with Fabio Capello. His resignation during the build up, followed immediately by the FA’s collective incompetence in searching for a successor (almost as farcically tragic-comic as the Wolves board’s similar Keystone Kop antics back in February), meant that meaningful preparation for the tournament was cut short and the press had nothing to drive their team choice and performance speculation.

Of course, in the end the FA accidentally landed on what may yet turn out to be an inspired choice in Roy Hodgeson, who has an undeniable ability to get the best out of lacklustre players.

Anyway, I watched a couple of games.

I sat down and watched the Spanish put the poor Irish to the sword. I feel a little guilty, I must admit. Before the game I was surprised that the odds on an Irish win were 14-1 against. Don’t get me wrong, I fully accept that Ireland have a weak team, who have consistently punched above their weight to get where they have, and I appreciate the fact that World Champions Spain are still the current top-rated team in the world. But I have seen enough games over the years where an inspired underdog has upset the form book to believe sincerely, that in a single game of two teams, there is always the possibility that work rate and enthusiasm will overcome skill and hubris.

Unfortunately I made this observation (or at least a 140 character précis of it) on Twitter. I therefore regretfully accept some of the blame for jinxing the Irish team by cursing them with my support as they crashed out 4-0.

Of course the other game I watched was England v Sweden.

Now here’s a game with nothing going on ahead of time to suggest which way it would go. Sweden, up until the past few months have a very good record against England dating back to well before the so-called Golden Generation (hah). At the same time they are an ordinary side in international terms, a very ordinary side.

England, on the other hand do, on paper at least, have some players of ability. Not as many as I’d like, obviously, but we do have some. Sadly, however, their fitness, application and concentration levels never quite seem to match their ability individually and collectively, to rake in vast amounts of cash. They have demonstrated a pretty constant ability to play well for a few minutes before forgetting anything more tactically challenging beyond kick and rush. They seem incapable of maintaining a lead, and so it was again, on Saturday. After milling around for twenty or so minutes, there was a moment of class that delivered a goal, after which the team collectively switched off and allowed Sweden to look like the world class contenders they are not.

Not only did Sweden, through greater commitment, equalise, but they took the lead. I can’t say that at that point, England looked capable of doing much about it.

Eventually we pulled back a goal of course and went on to win 3-2, but I’m not sure that we really deserved a win – not on the grounds of application or tactical nous, much less technical ability. Hodgeson made what has been hailed as an inspired substitution by bringing on Walcott to replace Milner, but his equaliser whilst a sight for sore eyes was probably more luck than judgement – you only have to watch the player’s expression when he scored. He was as surprised as anyone else (and as relieved) when the ball hit the back of the net. Similarly, when he set up the winner by getting the ball through to Welbeck, I’m not so sure the resulting goal was the masterpiece the commentators would have us believe it was. Years ago, when Bryan Robson scored his famously back heeled goal (against I think, Liverpool, when he still played for the Baggies? – yes, I am that old), you knew that he did it deliberately. This weekend it felt more like a petulant ‘sod it’ that went accidentally right.

The game was undeniably exciting, but hardly a feast of skill and imagination.

Expect the hype to arrive belatedly and loudly if England get a decent result against Ukraine. But don’t expect silverware at the end of it all.