I don't think Kirk is the answer. With the way MA wants to play, he's putting together a midfield that can pick a pass. Unfortunately our forwards, and in particular our wide players, like the ball to feet and then to run with the ball. What we need are some forwards/wingers that constantly make good runs, good movement off the ball to give the likes of Fiorini and Patino options when they receive the ball, and to pull the opposition defence about a bit. Currently, it's a bit too static, predictable and easy to defend against. We're effectively relying on Bowler to beat 3 or 4 players every game to create opportunities, and 95% of the time that's going to fail against championship defences.
It's not often we see a forward making a run, and a midfielder playing a through ball to run onto. The only player we have who does make runs is Yates, who I still think will thrive in the system given time and a bit of confidence. Actually Lavery did a couple of times on Saturday too, and we saw better movement in general in the second half. But it can still improve massively. All our forwards need to adjust as we change the way we play.