It's quite astounding that asking for patience even has to be a thing at this point. You'd think some fans would know better by now. Has no one learnt anything at all from Tonali's first year, or Leao's first and second years (and even a good portion of his third year) with us? Neither were where they are right now in their first season. It took Leao until his 3rd season to really become what he is today. If we expect all our new acquisitions, especially young players, to be instantly impactful straight out of the gate, then we wouldn't have Leao and Tonali (or Kalulu, Bennacer, et al.) in their present form to speak of today. Their growth and evolution as players weren't a given right out of the box in their first/second seasons. It took patience and time afforded to them by the management and the coaching staff to get them to where they are now (and there's still more to come from them in the years/seasons ahead.) Our fans could learn a thing or two from the people running the club at the moment.
De Ketelaere is right now really only in his 2nd competitive month of his first season with us, going into his 3rd. Let me repeat: *2nd month*. This is why so many people have been asking for some patience. And by people, I don't mean some of the forum members here. Pioli, Maldini, Baresi, Sacchi, Capello, current players (most recently Tonali), various ex-players (Ambrosini, Costacurta, Albertini, Dida, Panucci, Pancaro) and many football pundits (especially from Italy) have also asked for patience. They all have said as much to calm down and be patient with De Ketelaere. Give him the necessary time to properly settle in, to adapt and integrate to a new team, new teammates, new league, new coach, new football ideas, new country, new culture, new language, etc. Let's not forget too, his new teammates also need time to adapt to him. The integration process goes both ways. They have to learn how to play with him, as much as he has to learn how to play with them.
At the heart of it all, I feel it's really about what this club has become over the last few seasons since Maldini came onboard. You'd think some fans would, by now, have a better sense or understanding of what Maldini, Massara, and Pioli have been trying to achieve with this team for the past 3-4 years. Particularly for the long-term and in the bigger picture, rather than the immediate present. There has been a transformative sea-change across many levels in the way the club has been operating. Everything, from the recruitment approach/policy to the foundational aspects of the team building/rebuilding process. So much of it is a complete departure from the past and almost unprecedented. For one, I don't think we have ever been this strongly invested in and committed to young players in building the team's foundational core. If there's a single trait that perhaps best defines this particular incarnation of Milan under Maldini (and Pioli), it would have to be patience. You don't intentionally go out and recruit mainly young players to build/rebuild the foundations of a historic club without patience. The audacity of putting total faith on a bunch of youngsters to return us to the glory days and the summit of European and world football – that takes incredible courage and patience. Plenty of it. You need time for the players to properly integrate, grow, and evolve. You simply can't approach this with the short-sighted impulsivity and the restless impatience of an attention-deficit teenager, especially when it comes to the young prospect players that we're trying to bring through. You also have to manage and persevere through the growing pains that are inevitably part and parcel of developing young players. It's about thinking long-term and seeing the bigger picture, rather than the need for instant gratification.
Patience is key in appreciating or getting a better grasp of this long-term project. The vision and ambition/goal that they have for the team aren't going to properly bear fruit overnight, or even in the first season of introducing new pieces to the set-up. Every season we're bringing in new pieces to gradually complete the bigger picture in order to get us closer and closer to fulfilling the biggest of ambitions. These new pieces need time to properly integrate and adapt. There will be some growing pains, some rocky road bumps, some stumbles and falls here and there, before things start to click and come together. It's all an inherent part of the building and developmental process. All the young prospect players that we have acquired over the last few seasons are emblematic of that project and process. Be patient. Give them time not just to adapt and integrate, but to also grow and evolve. In time we'll see the makings of a team blossom into something worthy of our team's great and illustrious history and legacy.