I don’t think TROS tried to please old fans. The film pretended to do, but the main problems the old fans criticized were seldom fixed. None of the old fans I know liked the film. SW fans are not hard to please. TFA is just a copy of ANH, but people loved it. “Kill the past“ is not a good idea for a more than 40 year old franchise when you summon the original casts.
There are always people you can’t understand. it’s just a movie. What’s wrong to hate one? If a product doesn’t satisfy me any more, i’ll stop using it and choose alternate products.