lookleft,
I am well aware of the general trends of thought, with which I agree, about the deterioration in handling competency.
There is no shortage of research on the subject, FSF and FAA are two places to look.
However, blaming all that on ab nitio training, when somebody has been an airline pilot for some years, is another thing altogether. To me and many others, there are multiple deficiencies in many airlines' continuation training, even airlines whose upset training is a good as (not very good) a modern simulator allows.
And, of course, upsets are as old as aviation, they didn't suddenly start to occur with the advent of airline cadet pilots.
As for Bloggs' comments, typical of somebody whose horizon and perceptions end at the Australian 12 mile limit. Bloggs, old chap, you are not going to turn the clock (and a goodly percentage of the airline industry) back 60 years.