HAD things been done differently, some would say more effectively, Newcastle United could have been facing Tottenham this afternoon with both Jermaine Jenas and Michael Carrick forming part of the midfield.

Instead the England pair, who both have eyes on going to this summer's World Cup, will be lining up for Spurs, something which rankles with caretaker boss Glenn Roeder.

At White Hart Lane Martin Jol is in the process of a sound reconstruction job on a club that has been transformed into genuine challengers for a Champions League spot under his management.

Jol has moved to attract some of the best young talent around since taking over and both Carrick and Jenas have been two of those to have made the move to north London.

Both players have connections with Newcastle. Jenas' case is the most recent and he became frustrated with life on Tyneside, infamously claiming it was like 'living in a goldfish bowl'.

Former boss Graeme Souness, in need of raising cash after the £16m purchase of Michael Owen from Real Madrid, took the decision to offload Jenas to Tottenham for £7m.

It has been a move that has only benefited the player and his new employers, with Newcastle ruing the fact he was allowed to leave during a season in which they have been left short by injuries.

Jenas has scored six times for Tottenham and Roeder admits that Jol has captured a gem, someone he first spotted during his days at West Ham before the midfielder moved to Newcastle four years ago.

"There is no doubt he is a young player of enormous potential. He cannot possibly have fulfilled his potential because he is still only young. It was a shame he decided he wanted to leave here to further his career," said Roeder.

"I was like a lot of other managers, when I was at West Ham, who went to watch him when he was at Nottingham Forest. My first sighting of JJ was a game at Coventry and within seconds of the game I could pick him out.

"He is a very athletic mover, a modern day footballer. I watched the rest of the game and he played well, but it was the fact I could tell who he was without knowing who he was within seconds that struck me.

"It would be unfair to say the club allowed him to leave, he wanted to leave and the last thing any club wants is an unhappy player because that can effect the dressing room."

Carrick's case was different. Born in Wallsend, he should have been scouted by the Newcastle talent-spotting system but was overlooked and snapped up by West Ham in 1998.

Roeder was mightily impressed by the 25-year-old during their days together at Upton Park and always knew the youngster was likely to emerge as an England international.

And Roeder, as he prepares to be reunited with Carrick at St James' Park today, conceded that Newcastle can do nothing but accept the talent was another of those that got away.

"You've got to be disappointed that he played for Wallsend Boys and ends up at West Ham," said Roeder. "At the time I was at West Ham I was very grateful. But I remember the first time I heard him talking around the training ground I said 'you're a Geordie, you're not supposed to be here'."

Carrick has the sort of character which Roeder feels the next manager of Newcastle needs to find more of from the players he has at his disposal.

The acting manager even went as far as to suggest, when the search starts for new players when the transfer window opens for business, the new boss should look for players who have a track record of playing on a regular basis.

"When we identify a player, we need to check on their character as well as their ability.

"You can chuck a third one in as well, do they play games? Do they only play ten games a season? I wouldn't want to sign a player like that," he said.

"With Michael, Jermain Defoe, and the rest of the lads who came through at West Ham, you get that."

That is an approach Tottenham boss Jol has adopted since taking over from Jaques Santini in November 2004 and Roeder is full of praise for the Dutchman's work.

"He has brought Tottenham out of mid-table to Champions League challengers in a relatively short period of time," said Roeder, knowing Tottenham occupy fourth spot and are three points clear of fifth-placed Blackburn.

"I don't know him at all, but using my eyes, the way he acts, the way he talks, I think I would like him.

"He is a student of the game, he doesn't bounce up and down on the touchline."

Meanwhile, Roeder, who is looking for his side to end a four-game losing streak, revealed he was not surprised to hear Gerard Houllier is interested in the vacant Newcastle job.

The Frenchman, in charge of Lyon, who he has taken to the quarter-finals of the Champions league, has put his name forward for the Magpies' hot-seat.

And Roeder, a close friend of Houllier's, said: "I'm not surprised that Gerard Houllier is being linked with this job because it is one of the best out there. I know Gerard very well and I'm not at all surprised he is interested in a job like this."

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