KP, 'How do you safely revert if you never practise ?'
My implication may not have been clear enough. By all means revert to manual as is widely done, but don't expect that to change workload and safety. What ever crews do in normal conditions is unlikely to improve everyones performance in unusual conditions.
'Pilots should monitor the automatic flying of the aircraft.'
The task is to monitor the aircraft, not monitoring autos, not looking at the FMA and expecting to deduce flight path from annunciators alone. Use instruments, compare the aircraft actual situation with auto selections; i.e. what you planned, selected, expected, vs the reality.
Don't ask "whats it doing now", but "what did I ask the system to do.
Re humans - poor monitors - check standard HF and human perf texts.
'Do you generally agree with the opinion that pilots should be able to consistently fly with no automation ?'
This is not a yes / no question. Consider what drives the need for manual flight, what task, accuracy, proficiency, when, then how.
If 'consistently' refers to accuracy, then where the need for hand flying is to fly the aircraft after automation fails; accuracy ~ safe enough, but not necessarily to the higher standards required pre automation.
Professional pride should aim for the higher standard, but training and opportunity restrict skill development.