Agree with some of your points, particularly about that January transfer window, but Klopp is quoted as saying "[Endo] was always on my list, just usually we don't sign players of this age group. He is obviously a top fit."
Now Klopp isn't the kind of manager to undermine new signings like a Conte or a Mourinho, so maybe he was putting a brave face on his disappointment, but that doesn't sound like someone who had a player foisted on him due to restrictions. There were many other ways he could've paid lip service to a player only signed because of lack of options.
Yes, Endo may not be world class, and a world class defensive midfielder would obviously make us harder to play through. But defending is still a team game, and I know fans of Chelsea (who signed the DM we initially wanted) and Everton (with Gueye) who bemoan how easy they are to play through just as much as we do.
Finally, who would you have signed as DM instead of Endo last summer after we'd missed out on Caicedo and Lavia. That's a genuine question, not me having a go in any way - I just remember that quality DMs were scarce enough that we were contemplating Palhinha on here. I liked the sound of Lavia, but I doubt a 19 year old would have done much better than Endo in his first season.
I cannot make any more comments about Endo (been given a warning).
I just want to be clear on this though. I have no agenda against him. I like him as a character. His attitude/effort is first class. And when he signed (and if we remember back there was an incredulity when that happened after we had been linked with big money signings that didn't materialise), after Jurgen said "we need your legs" when he greeted him my optimism rose and I thought this fella is a running machine ala Ji Sung Park).
In regards to the DM position. The issue goes back to when Fabinho fell off a cliff. We couldn't have forseen that no, but we did need midfield additions as Hendo had certainly been on the wane (his closing down numbers had nosedived). We needed at least one midfielder through the door that summer of '22. The same summer Jurgen reeled off those 8 midfielders (Carvalho, Ox, Keita, 36 yo Milner, Hendo...there's five down already) during a press conference in response to concerns about strength in midfield. We were at the bare bones stage. Had we then brought just one midfielder that summer, good enough to start, that then leaves the next window easier. We did nothing, and what it then meant was we had to build an entire midfield in one window, which according to Andy Brassell, the European football expert, no top side in Europe has ever done before.
We left ourselves a mountain to climb. With Fabinho's collapse we should have been looking at a DM at the very least from midseason onward (in other words singling out a potential replacement). Mac in first, no problem with that really as he's a special talent and the fee is ridiculous (from January onward when he turned into Modric its looked even more ridiculous). Then though, with Jones already on board (and he came in during the previous season and revitalised the midfield, giving it energy it was devoid of), Mac in through the door, bring in the DM. We then brought in Dom, no doubting his talent, and with a fully functioning midfield that allows him more freedom to stay advanced he will tear it up throughout a whole season and not just the start when he was fresh, but be was not the priority. A 6 was.
Get the first XI sorted first, then add the topping (back ups, interchanges, depth). We have been buying 8s galore, and then asking Mac to "do a job" in the 6, in what is a specialist position, a vital position which we have seen throughout history (especially in the modern game with its quicker tempo with someone who can keep up with the midfield runners, track them, screen the defence, and provide adequate protection/barrier to our backline).
That last ditch stuff with Caicedo et al was indicative of poor planning, which as I said started a season prior. We had no legs in midfield throughout 22-23, and got overrun on a regular basis. The pressing machine had gone, and it's still gone. We have been very ropey in midfield, open, lack running power. Heavy metal football? From Black Sabbath to The Carpenters that season, this season with the addition of more mobile 8s we've become a bit edgier, maybe Bucks Fizz? We are still at the pop stage. Its not the Klopp midfield machine of 2018 to 2022 or remotely close to it.
