The criticism implied in your survey tends towards the patronising and condescending view of the so called jouneyman pilot so often adopted by the specialist simulator instructor out of touch with the real world. I have rarely encountered a candidate not anxious to show himself in the best possible light. Perhaps you mistake the ability to reel off endless numbers and to fly a simulator exactly to a profile for competence. What really counts is the ability to make it look easy on a dark and stormy night when the gremlins are ganging up on you - then you will find the complete rounded aviator and not someone who is good at computer games.
The CAA training system permits the retesting of some items where required, so while a candidate may have a couple of shots at a manoeuvre, this may not show up as a fail - thereby confusing your call for notices of failure.
I am sure we would all dearly love to spend all our time practising in the aircraft and simulators in order to perfect the finished article but something called commercial operations comes into the equation somewhere!