There'll be a lot of negativity after that 2nd half but Esteve really is something special. I doubt he even broke a sweat it was that easy for him.

He makes Baresi look like Grant Hanley

I keep saying he’s the best cb I’ve ever seen play for us

Special talent, best player outside the prem. Nothing more to be said.

UTC

There shouldn’t be much negativity….. solid win.

Esteve is a rolls Royce at this level.

So glad we kept hold of him and CJ in the window.

Why negativity just beat a dude that’s gone 9 unbeaten and with a bit more composure in front of goal would have been 4 or 5
Great night UTC

He's an unreal talent, has all the potential to go to the very top of the game. CJ too was superb tonight as well. The best pairing I've seen at this level.

gandhisflipflop wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 9:46 pm

I keep saying he’s the best cb I’ve ever seen play for us

Yep, he’s absolutely brilliant. Going all the way to the top.

Goliath wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 9:44 pm

There'll be a lot of negativity after that 2nd half but Esteve really is something special. I doubt he even broke a sweat it was that easy for him.

BOTH centre halves were superb

Esteve is a phenomenal defender.

CJ could probably play on the wing and do a heck of a lot better than Sarmiento!

Loved the way the NOW/Sky commentator got his french accent in the wrong place (and I guess the wrong direction) and mis-pronounced his name in the first half. Obviously, someone put him straight at half-time and it was pronounced correctly after half-time.

UTC

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 9:59 pm

Loved the way the NOW/Sky commentator got his french accent in the wrong place (and I guess the wrong direction) and mis-pronounced his name in the first half. Obviously, someone put him straight at half-time and it was pronounced correctly after half-time.

UTC

Estevé?

I have seen some fantastic centre halves for Burnley in over 60 years of supporting them, but maybe he is the calmest I have seen under pressure

chekhov wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:01 pm

Estevé?

That's how Sky had it.

Maxime Estève is his name.

He reads the game so well, it gives him that extra yard.
He's going to be a good PL player.

He certainly looks top class at this level. Will be interesting to see how he fairs in the prem. I’m not counting his half season there before as the defence were hung out to dry by the way we were set up.

As a defender esteve is unbelievable but if a premier league club want a ball playing cb then esteve isn’t that player

If he can improve his passing range then he'll easily become a top player in the Prem because, as already said, he reads the game so well, which gives him that extra yard. His long range passing can be a bit suspect at times though.

To be fair, it was only Oxford. But, he is something special at this level.

Pisses this league.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:05 pm

That's how Sky had it.

Maxime Estève is his name.

Accent grave, pronounced like ‘e’ in egg.
Lucas Digne is one the commentators also get wrong because the g and n together mean the e is pronounced like the er ending in lots of English words.

chekhov wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:44 pm

Accent grave, pronounced like ‘e’ in egg.
Lucas Digne is one the commentators also get wrong because the g and n together mean the e is pronounced like the er ending in lots of English words.

Merci.

Absolutely imperious. What a player he is for us.

What he’s good at, he’s very good at. Excellent, in fact. An absolutely brilliant defender at this level.

His passing, however, is a little suspect. He’s fine when he keeps it simple. His longer distribution is actually pretty poor. But hopefully this will improve.

Paul Waine wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:05 pm

That's how Sky had it.

Maxime Estève is his name.

And he’ll always be Steeeeeeeve whilst he’s at Burnley. Had a great game

Tremendous

Absolutely outstanding yet again.

Jakubs Tash wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 11:04 pm

What he’s good at, he’s very good at. Excellent, in fact. An absolutely brilliant defender at this level.

His passing, however, is a little suspect. He’s fine when he keeps it simple. His longer distribution is actually pretty poor. But hopefully this will improve.

But if his long-range passing doesn't improve, maybe we'll keep him longer.

Staggeringly good.
CJER out of position? “I’ll have a wander over and take care of that”
Left back gets beat? “It’s ok I’ve got it”
Trafford gets caught out? “I’ve got that tackle, and the follow up, you guys just reset”


Imperious

Such a good well mannered lad also which goes a long way in my book.

He’s going right to the very top and I would say a ready made replacement for Virgil at Liverpool in time.

His partnership with CJ is the best I have seen at Burnley in over 50 years - they are awesome together AND, will only get better.

Both pure class - and !!!!! backed up by the “team”

Think some people might be getting a bit carried away. Michael Keane looked outstanding at this level, the step up is absolutely huge.

jrgbfc wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:15 am

Think some people might be getting a bit carried away. Michael Keane looked outstanding at this level, the step up is absolutely huge.

To be fair, Keane did go on to play over 250 times in the Prem and 12 times for England.

Are we forgetting Tarks and Mee who managed 5 yrs together in the top flight?

He’s got a wonderful Rolls Royce smoothness about him , allied to excellent technique. Reminds me a little of the young Michael Keane ( though MK had some lovely long passes in his game too) Hopefully we hang onto him , but money , bloody good money will surely talk .

People judging defenders for their passing ability is exactly what is wrong with the game. This isn’t a critique of posters I understand what they say but a defenders job is to defend and esteve does that superbly well. It’s about time football got back to basics as defending is just as good an art as attacking. It’s the same with goalkeepers. If those at the very top don’t want to look at actual good defenders, then that’s their loss.

gandhisflipflop wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:42 am

People judging defenders for their passing ability is exactly what is wrong with the game. This isn’t a critique of posters I understand what they say but a defenders job is to defend and esteve does that superbly well. It’s about time football got back to basics as defending is just as good an art as attacking. It’s the same with goalkeepers. If those at the very top don’t want to look at actual good defenders, then that’s their loss.

I agree entirely. When it comes to actual defending, Esteve is streets ahead of everyone in this league. His reading of the game is magnificent, his recovery pace is outstanding, he’s big and strong in the tackle. Could perhaps be marginally stronger in the air but it never visibly appears to be a weakness.

mdd2 wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:32 am

Are we forgetting Tarks and Mee who managed 5 yrs together in the top flight?

No bigger fan of Tarkowski than me but I think Esteve is better.

The pair of CBs compliment each other perfectly. Egan Riley has a better range of passing and is better carrying the ball. Esteve is just a mountain you cannot get around, under or over.

He's more of a traditional centre back in that sense. He's phenomenal at defending and sticks to it. It's refreshing tbh to see someone master one aspect of the game so well. In the modern game there's a bit of a mush of qualities from 1-11. When you see a defender who just defends perfectly or a striker who's an out an out predator (also rare) it's great to see

He has a fantastic ability to read danger and be in the right place at the right time. It's almost uncanny.

Claret53 wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:53 am

He has a fantastic ability to read danger and be in the right place at the right time. It's almost uncanny.

Bobby Moore was a master at that.
Not saying he's that standard, but still...

123EasyasBFC wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:08 pm

As a defender esteve is unbelievable but if a premier league club want a ball playing cb then esteve isn’t that player

Yep you nailed it with this.

He’s a truly excellent defender, not sure he’s going to the top as others suggest purely down to his ability on the ball. I actually think hes a contributing factor as to why some of our play on the ball is so poor, because he doesn’t have the ability to break the lines (like Egan Riley)

NottsClaret wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:24 am

To be fair, Keane did go on to play over 250 times in the Prem and 12 times for England.

Yeah, i'm sure Esteve will go on to have a good career in the Prem, but talk of him playing for the big boys is a bit premature yet.

STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!

Who spotted him and is responsible for him arriving at Turf Moor ? Good job !

gandhisflipflop wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:42 am

People judging defenders for their passing ability is exactly what is wrong with the game. This isn’t a critique of posters I understand what they say but a defenders job is to defend and esteve does that superbly well. It’s about time football got back to basics as defending is just as good an art as attacking. It’s the same with goalkeepers. If those at the very top don’t want to look at actual good defenders, then that’s their loss.

Exactly.

There's no player currently in the Prem that comes close to either John Terry or Rio Ferdinand in terms of defending.

jrgbfc wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 4:16 pm

Yeah, i'm sure Esteve will go on to have a good career in the Prem, but talk of him playing for the big boys is a bit premature yet.

Sadly I don’t think it is
Pace, strength, height, reads the ball, great temperament & brave
He got done once this season, not before or since. It’s so rare it sticks in my mind
We shouldn’t accept less than 40 mil when the time comes, all too soon I reckon
I don’t think sadly that finances will allow us to keep him even if we do go up.

Reminds me of Van de Ven

Newcastleclaret93 wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 3:08 pm

Yep you nailed it with this.

He’s a truly excellent defender, not sure he’s going to the top as others suggest purely down to his ability on the ball. I actually think hes a contributing factor as to why some of our play on the ball is so poor, because he doesn’t have the ability to break the lines (like Egan Riley)

It’s really tough to criticise him because his actual defending is outstanding but I’ve watched him very closely last few games and other than Plymouth that was easy, his overall ball playing has been pretty average at best, he tries tje diagonal and it doesn’t come off much at all

I actually think he's quite similar to Keane. Both good defenders with a tall lanky physique and a turn of pace but neither are particularly good on the ball. Remember Keane hoofing it forward a lot without a great deal of direction, partially may have been direction from our erstwhile incumbent manger though!