There is the quick, risky way to do things and a professional way to do things. It's like comparing a boy racer to a good driver A boy racer throws the car about and thrashes the engine, a good driver will drive smoothly and make the ride as comfortable as possible while still driving fast.
Being forced to drop the gear at 7,000ft is not the correct way to fly an aeroplane. I am not an expert, but the pilots I talk to try their hardest to avoid even using the speed brake at all and flying into LHR or most European airports, they rarely need to.
I'm sure British pilots would refuse approach clearances more often if they weren't met with the reaction that they should turn around and go somewhere else.
I can't believe that this thread has turned into an argument between the right way to do something and the wrong way to do something. Logically, the right way wins every time in most people's book. Typical that Yanks always think they are right, depite the fact that everything points otherwise.