Posted this on The Offside, thought it might be relevant over here too:
Everytime someone bothers to argue that Pirlo may not be a vital part of the team any longer, the fanboys bring up his performances from ancient times. They make it out as if Milan would not survive without their golden boy and that there is NO ONE in the world currently capable of replacing him. They clear seem to forget that Milan no longer play in a style that does not really accomodate Pirlo nor they seem to care that football has evolved a lot since 2006 and that players are expected to be more than one dimensional in their play. I find it laughable that someone would compare Xavi with Pirlo, especially considering Xavi is more complete footballer than Pirlo ever was. Yes Pirlo was great in 2006, one of the best players back then even. But we seem to forget that Pirlo also had Gattuso and Seedorf to cover for his weaknesses. Is it really a coincidence that the moment these players started to decline Pirlo's weaknesses kept getting exposed on a regular basis.
These are Pirlo's stats since 2006:
2006/07
48 GP, 3 Goals, 9 Assists
2007/08
40 GP, 5 Goals, 11 Assists
2008/09
29 GP, 2 Goals, 2 Assists
2009/10
44 GP, 1 Goal, 4 Assists
2010/11
21 GP. 1 Goal, 3 Assists
Now tell me whether those stats are of a player out of form or in decline?
We can give excuses that the team post 2007 was mainly shit and suffered from a lack of investment. But what makes some people so sure that Pirlo wasnt part of the problem?. Some say that Seedorf has been shittier than Pirlo in the past few years and that he should go before him. But these are Seedorf's stats post 2006:
2006/07
41 GP, 10 Goals, 7 Assists
2007/08
38 GP, 9 Goals, 6 Assists
2008/09
35 GP, 6 Goals, 6 Assists
2009/10
31 GP, 6 Goals, 7 Assists
2010/11
38 GP, 3 Goals, 6 Assists
And these are stats of a Seedorf that is 4 years older than Pirlo. So on what basis do the fanboys argue that Pirlo deserves to stay ahead of Seedorf?
Even Ronnie in his two seasons made more impact than Pirlo has made in his last 4. And yes, we can all agree that selling Ronnie was the right thing to do.
- He could play in only one position
- He disrupted the balance of the team
- He was on wages that did not justify his performances on the pitch
- He was easily closed down
- He couldnt defend to save his life bla bla bla...
Hmm...remind you of someone else we know and love?. And no I am NOT defending Ronnie either....
So forgive me if I expected more from our midfield maestro, our golden boy, one of our famed senatores in the last few years...
yeah right, start questioning everything about the guy 
