Alan Shearers answer? Plain and simple - he dropped him and brought back Steven Taylor - who was returning from injury.
And Taylor was superb, and went on to describe Newcastle's victory as "massive" after turning in a man-of-the-match performance.
Taylor: "We were magnificent tonight.
"It's massive and three points definitely helps us.
"We need to take this and build on it. We are full of confidence now and can't wait until the next game.
"It was the best feeling ever to get back in the game. Things haven't gone our way recently but it was different tonight.
"He (Alan Shearer) deserves it.
"He and Iain Dowie have been fantastic for us. They've worked hard and everyone is doing a good job.
"If we stay up it'll be the best feeling ever. This is a big club which should be in Europe, not in this position. But we've only got ourselves to blame for where we are."