I think if we were patient with the younger players and accepted they were going to make mistakes then they would blossom but as most Gills fans are critical and get on a players back immediately i just can't see it. An example maybe being Albert Jarret, he had so little confidence playing for us and looked geuinely awful. When he played against us for Lincoln he controlled the game for them which they eventually won. We just don't give players any slack in my opinion, I'm sure it comes down to management and how they handle the players and which tactics to use in part as well. This is turning into quite a long speech but i also feel we let players go that we shouldn't a lot of the time, like tom wynter to dover, he looked like such a promising young player and we just let him go to dover, i really didn't understand that one.
One of the main problems is that clubs want instant success and they just cannot "afford" to sit back and watch young players in the hope that they develop into a good, if not a great player. With finances being tight players are now seen with a "£" sign above their head, so when it comes to getting rid of players it's a case of how much can we save if we get rid of him, him and him over there! If clubs were a little more patient then I am sure that some of the young players will eventually develop into good players and become a great investment to the club. Clubs would rather "buy in" the known talent in the hope of a quick fix and promotion.
I've personally found it quite pleasing to read that Rooney is so keen to prove himself with us. There's been lots of talk about lack of passion from players with regards to Gillingham. Rooney wants to go out there and score goals and to that I say, brilliant! Lets give him all the encouragement we can. He might have been hit and miss so far but if he can prove his worth and get a series of starts he might start knocking a few in.
Just lets hope he can do it as we need someone else in the team to live up to their full potential, Weston needs to be one good player next season aswell as he does have it in him but he has not shown it for a year and a half.
