Many fans thought he would have gone for Hatem Ben Arfa (pictured right) to partner Demba Ba, probably to replace Gabriel Obertan, but the Toon boss tried to play it safe with a five man midfield.
As it happens, Obertan went missing (again!) and Ba was left to lead the forward line himself.
For a long time it worked, and Newcastle looked as good as the home side, but the Reds won the game because of slack marking and a wonder finish by Steven Gerrard.
Alan Pardew: "I thought it was a tough call on us because I think Cheik played the ball and we followed that up with an error.
"We had control of the game and if we had been a little more positive we could have got something out of the game.
"Even at 2-1 when it looked like the game might get away from us we had a great moment with a fantastic pass and finish for Demba (Ba) and the defender (Skrtel) has had to do terrifically well to stop us getting in the game.
"Those two key moments were where the result lay for me."