With six absentees - Alan Shearer, Stephen Carr, Nicky Butt, Aaron Hughes, Ronny Johnsen and, at the last minute, Craig Bellamy - options for Souness were limited. And it showed. They have won once in two months and, for the beleaguered manager, life may become worse before it gets better.
Rafael Benitez made an important change from Tuesday's inept draw with Portsmouth, switching from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2, with Neil Mellor alongside Milan Baros up front and Gerrard withdrawn into his effective, central-midfield position where the game is in front of him.
For half an hour, however, much of the play was as mundane as on Tuesday. Footballers understandably tend to be reluctant to admit indifferent form, searching for psychological excuses, but when Gerrard can write in the programme of "arguably our worst performance of the season at Anfield" you can be certain things are not good.
They did not immediately improve. Within the first 90 seconds Luis Garcia, recalled to midfield in place of Antonio Nunez, had skied a glaring chance high over the bar as Baros pulled the ball back from the dead-ball line. Newcastle had cause for optimism, with James Milner seriously testing Jerzy Dudek in goal and Olivier Bernard banging a low drive a yard or too wide. Though ragged, Newcastle at this stage were well in the hunt, even if two famous clubs were well short of exceptional performances.
It was not until the 28th minute that Gerrard enlivened Liverpool prospects, hammering a long shot low past the post. Yet almost immediately Newcastle went in front.
Jermaine Jenas and Kieron Dyer had not been able to produce a momentum in keeping with their England credentials, but now Dyer - who is being linked with Portsmouth for a move in the January transfer window - unleashed Lee Bowyer on the right and his low cross to a possibly offside Patrick Kluivert was swept past an exposed Dudek.
Almost instantly Liverpool responded. Full-back John Arne Riise, also recalled, drummed a 40-yard shot past a post and within the minute Liverpool were level. A quick corner by Gerrard was missed on the near post by Sami Hyypia but Titus Bramble, marking almost between Hyypia's shoulder blades, clumsily if involuntarily knocked the ball into his own net.
Things now got better. Within three minutes, Baros eluded Robbie Elliott and slid the ball forward for Mellor to stroke it wide of Shay Given. Liverpool's tails were up.
Three minutes into the second half Gerrard, storming in from the right, slashed a shot across the face of the goal when he might have better looked for a colleague, but on the hour came the goal of the match. Harry Kewell, dancing through the middle, fed the ball between Newcastle's static central defenders and there was Baros, rounding Elliott and then Given to stroke the ball into an empty goal.
A near revival by Newcastle came to nothing, Jenas shooting over from seven yards and a bullet of a free-kick by substitute Laurent Robert being turned over the bar by Dudek. Minutes later Bowyer was sent off for a second yellow card, any remaining Newcastle hopes departing with him.
Souness confirmed afterwards that he had received a letter from the Ritz Hotel, in London, protesting about boisterous behaviour by Kluivert and Bellamy during a "day out". Souness declined to comment further.