Callum Gribbin

khoazany

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I'm been very impressed with this lad since the first time I saw him (that VDS testimonial match) and seem he's taking U18s football like a duck to water despite his tender age (will turn 16 on December).A bit slow for no.10 position but I can see him becoming a very classy no.8 playmaker.

Watch out for his video performance vs. Stoke which should be out soon.
 

Elliott

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The most mature 15-year-old I've seen at u18s level, and - with the exception of Ravel - the best. There's something so rhythmic, borderline hypnotic, about the way he moves with the ball at his feet. Zizou's heir with hair. Obviously.
 

Pogue Mahone

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The most mature 15-year-old I've seen at u18s level, and - with the exception of Ravel - the best. There's something so rhythmic, borderline hypnotic, about the way he moves with the ball at his feet. Zizou's heir with hair. Obviously.
Presume you're talking at United here? And not including that Noggie boy wonder everyone's been spaffing over? (very unfortunate turn of phrase, admittedly)

Never heard of this kid. Is he English?
 

Elliott

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Presume you're talking at United here? And not including that Noggie boy wonder everyone's been spaffing over? (very unfortunate turn of phrase, admittedly)

Never heard of this kid. Is he English?
I am indeed, Poguelicious.

Yeah, he's English. The England u16s coach called him and Spurs' brilliant Marcus Edwards the picks of last season's Victory Shield litter.
 

FromTheBench

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Seen him play 4/5 times and liked him each time. The way he creates space and easily goes pass players is very similar to Januzaj in a way though he is more of a passer than a runner and not as quick with better vision which really stands out with him.

I think he's a pure number #10 though. Very unenglish type player.


Struggled as a #8 in Victory shield.
 

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His game seems very calm and composed and he seems to have plenty of technical ability. He's left footed too isn't he? It seems that a lot of the most technically gifted youngsters are lefties.
 

Glanville95

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Just from that compilation he seems like he has great composure for a 15 year-old and an ability to take the pace out of the game or quicken the tempo. Obviously pace seems a bit of a shortcoming, but he's still classy on the ball and engineers space for himself well. That being said, I've never seen him play before, so it's just a judgement off that comp.
 

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Remember him standing out in that Slovakian tournament match there was a live stream of sometime last year. He seems to have a fantastic left foot. Always looking for a progressive pass. Hadn't really noticed is lack of pace tbh. Might be a factor in the long run but I'm just drawn to his class on the ball.
 

TwoSheds

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People will bore me shitless whingeing about his one-footedness should he ever make it to the first team.
 

khoazany

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Good to see him back to the U18s fold.Have a feeling he'll be important for us in the FA Youth Cup run.
 

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Got #8 written all over him, in my opinion. It's not just about his pace, it's the tempo of his game and the orchestrating role that he seems to slip into instinctively whenever I've seen him play. Doesn't make decisions with the immediacy of a natural #10. His build's better suited to a deeper role too.

Definitely one of the ones to watch in this group.
 

Elliott

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Got #8 written all over him, in my opinion. It's not just about his pace, it's the tempo of his game and the orchestrating role that he seems to slip into instinctively whenever I've seen him play. Doesn't make decisions with the immediacy of a natural #10. His build's better suited to a deeper role too.

Definitely one of the ones to watch in this group.
Perhaps long term but at the mo he doesn't have the defensive game for a deeper role. While clearly a gem, defensively he can be shocking. You'll quite frequently see players carry the ball past him without any reaction at all. He doesn't put a challenge in (not even a lazy one) and he doesn't track them. As the Caf would say in its infinite abuse of the other L-word; it's literally like he's not even there.
 

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Yep that's a good point, I'd sort of discounted what a non-entity he is defensively at the moment. But if he wants to make it he's going to have to add a bit of defending to his game anyway, because no player on the pitch can afford to make zero defensive contribution. Whereas he'd have to entirely change his style of play to have a future as a first-team #10 if you ask me. As I say, it's in the basic way he moves, thinks and passes the ball.
 

khoazany

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Don't know if he's coping with growth spurt or what but from what I heard he did score good number of goals at younger levels but I haven't seen that aspect of his game since promoted to the U18s.

With him,Dearnley,Williams,Warren,Kenyon and Makela we have a few serious talents in that age group.
 

Elliott

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Don't know if he's coping with growth spurt or what but from what I heard he did score good number of goals at younger levels but I haven't seen that aspect of his game since promoted to the U18s.

With him,Dearnley,Williams,Warren,Kenyon and Makela we have a few serious talents in that age group.
He's still very slight and occasionally he seems to struggle with the physicality of players a couple of years his senior. That might have something to do with it.
 

FromTheBench

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His vision again standing out.

He's still pretty soft and one footed though. Guess that could improve as he's still pretty young even for this level.

Januzaj when he first arrived was similar and just floated even more out of games especially in terms of any sort of physical challenges.
 

m1y2

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looks to have very similar skill set to Januzaj. Great dribbling, vision and weight of pass.

no8 looked bright as well, who is he?
 

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Talented but not quite in the Januzaj/Pereira/Wilson bracket for me. Not yet, at least; plenty of time for that.

Still firmly of the opinion that his future is as a Fabregas-esque #8, not a #10.

EDIT: That through-ball near the end was lovely. Absolutely textbook little diagonal run and reverse diagonal pass.
 
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khoazany

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Talented but not quite in the Januzaj/Pereira/Wilson bracket for me. Not yet, at least; plenty of time for that.

Still firmly of the opinion that his future is as a Fabregas-esque #8, not a #10.

EDIT: That through-ball near the end was lovely. Absolutely textbook little diagonal run and reverse diagonal pass.
When they were in Gribbin's age Januzaj and Pereira still haven't come to us and Wilson still occasionally do feck all in games so I don't think that comparison is really fair.

looks to have very similar skill set to Januzaj. Great dribbling, vision and weight of pass.

no8 looked bright as well, who is he?
Devonte Redmond.He usually looks elegant on highlights but not really do much in real match.
 

Elliott

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His vision again standing out.

He's still pretty soft and one footed though. Guess that could improve as he's still pretty young even for this level.

Januzaj when he first arrived was similar and just floated even more out of games especially in terms of any sort of physical challenges.
Adnan was always a tough bastard, never afraid to get kicked or put his foot in. In one of his first academy games (against City I think) he had a very physical battle going with his (much bigger) marker until he finally flattened him in a clean but brutal aerial duel. That's when I knew he was special.

Devonte Redmond.He usually looks elegant on highlights but not really do much in real match.
I missed the game on Friday but he's been more influential this season. Probably the best player on the pitch against Newcastle a couple of weeks ago. He's got a lot of qualities, hopefully he'll keep improving his ability to mold them into performances.
 

khoazany

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I missed the game on Friday but he's been more influential this season. Probably the best player on the pitch against Newcastle a couple of weeks ago. He's got a lot of qualities, hopefully he'll keep improving his ability to mold them into performances.
He could be a very good player under Joyce who emphasises on work rate which could improve him a lot however I rate Thompson higher than him.It's a shame that the latter is quite injury-prone and couldn't get a good run in CM.
 
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FromTheBench

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Adnan was always a tough bastard, never afraid to get kicked or put his foot in. In one of his first academy games (against City I think) he had a very physical battle going with his (much bigger) marker until he finally flattened him in a clean but brutal aerial duel. That's when I knew he was special.
Dunno about that tbh. He always seemed to vary from time to time and game to game.

Got bit of a hairdryer from SAF himself after the youth cup game where we got knocked out for being too soft and less involved no ?
 

Elliott

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Dunno about that tbh. He always seemed to vary from time to time and game to game.

Got bit of a hairdryer from SAF himself after the youth cup game where we got knocked out for being too soft and less involved no ?
He had the odd complacent performance at that level but it had nuffin to do with his toughness.
 

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When they were in Gribbin's age Januzaj and Pereira still haven't come to us and Wilson still occasionally do feck all in games so I don't think that comparison is really fair.
Only one year older. Besides I'm not making a straight comparison, I'm talking about my own opinion about his prospects. As I said in the post you replied to, he's still young and has plenty of time to get into that very top talent bracket, I just don't personally think he's there yet.
 

Brightonian

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Dunno about that tbh. He always seemed to vary from time to time and game to game.

Got bit of a hairdryer from SAF himself after the youth cup game where we got knocked out for being too soft and less involved no ?
Nonetheless, Elliott's right, for a slight lad he's always been tough as nails.
 

limerickcitykid

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Could only watch the first 30 minutes today and have only seen highlights before but Callum looks so good on the ball. Played some perfectly weighted through balls today and looked as if he was just taking a stroll in the park. I see there are concerns about his position and the defensive side of his game but he looks really talented, and only just turned 16.
 

Elliott

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Could only watch the first 30 minutes today and have only seen highlights before but Callum looks so good on the ball. Played some perfectly weighted through balls today and looked as if he was just taking a stroll in the park. I see there are concerns about his position and the defensive side of his game but he looks really talented, and only just turned 16.
Not sure I'd call them concerns as he's still so young and has plenty of time to sort it out, but - though a poor Hull side weren't able to expose it last night - his off-the-ball game leaves a lot to be desired. I see I called him the most mature 15-year-old I've seen at u18s level earlier in this thread and in terms of on-the-ball decision-making that's definitely true. Still, I don't think I was aware of just how raw certain aspects of his game are when I made that post and I probably would have worded it differently today. But he's clearly very, very special and that's all that matters for now.