Snag is, ATC is now so risk averse that anything that isn't written down and published as a procedure leaves one wide open to subsequent disciplinary actions - doing something with the best of intentions is no longer enough to make it ok when it goes even slightly wrong. As for controllers with aircraft experience, that has also largely faded away from what I can see. More and more controllers are now coming into the industry, not because they have a love of aviation, but simply because they are attracted by the salary and potential lifestyle. It is rare now for controllers to have flying experience behind them, I have seen ab-initios who literally don't know what the difference is in a Cherokee and an Aztec - no appreciation in the difference of performance, no idea if fixed gear or retractable etc. Couple this with a sense of entitlement for someone who as never been told in their lifetime that they can actually fail and there can be issues. But in balance I suppose it would be a boring world if we were all the same.
