Pirlo is not dynamic enough to warrant always playing IMO. I don't like the way he plays when we're chasing a goal. Too much of the impetus is put on him, while he's sitting at the half way line. We need to be more aggressive. I think I'd favour the 4-2-4 when we need a goal. Put Del Piero or Mirko in the middle and have the impetus put on them, who are in a more advanced position.
I hate how we always look for Pirlo and it's a pass that must go backwards. It slows our game down when we need to be moving faster. It's like, pass to Pirlo, he looks up, throws hollywood ball into goalie's arms or out wide to Licht. FFS, let's get some play going around the edges of the box instead. Just my opinion anyway. I think he's a big reason why we can't breakthrough late in games.