His passing range is exactly why we can't afford to leave him out. While he's been very inconsistent this season, he's the only one who can find a pass when it looks like there's nothing on. He's not a showboater or a fancy winger, he's a midfielder with a simple job of pinging the ball to players in space. His shooting is alright, but with Diame playing next to him, he doesn't have the licence to get forward (as we saw in the FA Cup semi final) so we won't see that side of his game as much.
If we leave him out, which other midfielder do we bring in to play CM? Quinn? He's hardly a passer and really is more of a wide player. Meyler is a big bag of w**k (Liverpool at home last season aside, I don't think I've seen him make a solid contribution since) and Ramirez is too attack minded (not to mention lightweight) to sit in the holding midfield role.
It was said a lot last season, that when Tom has a bad game, the whole team does, such is his influence on how we play. Everything goes through him, so if the opposition take him out of the game (as Burnley did with Diame), we're effectively stifled. That can be rectified by changing our tactics during the game, or by routing the play elsewhere.
Bullard was a decent larker, but he's never in the same league as Huddlestone. Hell, he isn't even the same f**ing sport.