The system, as I intended it to be understood, doesnt mean 3-5-2 or anything else
With his imagination and skill even a 4-3-3 would miss several beats if we replaced him. You're selling the magnitude of things he bring very short and I dont understand why.
You'd think a player with such imagination and skill would offer more than 1 assist. I mean, we have two midfielders directly beside him who have 16 goals and 9 assists already. Perhaps Pirlo offers a great deal of imagination but there are other ways to score goals. No one will claim Llorente is creative in any way but right now we are using him correctly and directly and the result is effective football.
Trust me, I understand the work he does that doesn't result in goals or assists and I value it but the biggest problem his loss presents, IMO, is the fact that you might have to move Vidal or Pogba into his spot therefore taking them further away from the opponent's goal.
I have to say, I think Pirlo is overrated. He's still a good player but he's not someone who can impose his will on the match anymore. His performance is largely dictated by how often we can retrieve the ball for him and whether or not our opposition is happy to concede possession and time to us.
Right now, Pogba, Vidal, Tevez and Llorente are the players on our team who can trouble the top teams without requiring favourable circumstances IMO.
Now, if we try to replace Pirlo with Pogba or Vidal all we're doing is weakening our system at the DM position and the CM position (whoever fills in for Pogba or Vidal).
But perhaps an uptempo 4-3-3 with Asamoah/Marchisio, Vidal, Pogba in the middle and Mirko/Tevez/Gio on the wings can run over a few teams until January hits and either Pirlo returns or we can find some wingers.