I didn't really want to get involved with this thread but, I do have to add at this point that all the breeds that are around today were bred and designed for 'selfish' human requirements, including the Working Cocker... we've mutated a wild animal over 1000's of years to provide us with dogs that excel at and do different things for US and along the way, there have been millions of 'not quite fit for purpose' casualties.
The mutations (or different breeds) we have today, with time will also change to meet 'our' needs and requirements. I'm sure shoots will always be around and I don't know how common place they are today compared with 100 years ago but today, largely and more than ever before, the dog is a pet/companion. All manner of breeders including those with the working cockers best interests at heart are producing more dogs than I suspect are needed for just working owners and as we all know, not all puppies from litters of that type of stock are fit to work but some still carry the traits that make them difficult to manage, so where do these excess dogs go? They have to go to pet homes or be destroyed and if they have to go to pet homes then surely they also have to be suitable for that and ultimately trying to breed a level of 'pet home suitability' into workers could actually help the breed long term? If not then there will always always be a problem for these dogs and a lot of casualties... surely that is more selfish?
I have an unsuitable pet dog that causes me no end of grief at times, but I love her dearly and I do my best to stimulate her and provide her with a good life. She isn't suitable for working because she ended up in a loving but naive home and didn't get the right start in life for her breed because her breeder bred too many pups for for the shooting market to take so she went to a well intentioned pet home and it didn't work and they couldn't hack it. I don't know if Normy would have made a good working dog, she has the skills but she's an emotional mess and overly sensitive and who knows if this is a result of her start in life or if she would never have been a good working dog anyway. Her breeder is also what we on this site would largely consider 'responsible' in that she helps rehome her pups for their lifetime, her breeding stock is health tested, fed raw diets, they get to work, the prospective puppy owners are vetted etc etc.. but there aren't enough homes for these working dogs as 'working dogs' and therefore, people like me and you end up trying to offer these not quite up to it dogs what we can - but it's not ideal and I'm not normal and doing it costs me and my family in other ways.
Surely the way forward, is to concentrate on a 'super dog' that can adapt to other things if needed - does that have to mean diluting the true nature of the breed or is it actually kinder to design something for the world as it is today?