David Moyes was granted a Goodison Park guard of honour when he left Everton to become Manchester United manager. He deserves to be carried into the new stadium in a sedan chair if he can keep this team in the Premier League.

The homecoming party is on hold, delayed by Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins’ second-half winner. Too many nights like this will postpone the imminent house-warming party, too, leaving Everton to pray there are three worse Premier League teams. Otherwise they will christen their £500 million stadium in the Championship.

The conductor has changed, but sadly for the hosts this was the same old tune, Everton’s lack of firepower a damning indictment on the state of the squad.

Moyes has spent his first few days assessing its quality, with Sean Dyche’s farewell note so upbeat one wondered whether to re-examine the league table.

“The right time has come to leave the club, with the team in good shape,” said the former manager in his League Managers Association statement. Only 50 per cent of that declaration is accurate, the phrase “good shape” doing so much heavy lifting it might win the clean and jerk gold medal at the next Olympics. The other half is at best highly debatable and at worst laughable.

This is certainly nothing like the Everton team Moyes left behind. Nor does it bear the slightest resemblance to those he built for European qualification.

In his more reflective moments, Moyes will lament the lack of midfield guile of Mikel Arteta, the absence of the eye-catching combinations of Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar, and goal-scoring of Tim Cahill.

Like his immediate predecessors, Moyes has no choice but to bet on Dominic Calvert-Lewin to find his goalscoring boots. He appeared to lose them in 2020, his chronic lack of confidence and goals the difference between a plucky point and another debilitating defeat.

Calvert-Lewin was close to the first goal of the new Moyes era when shooting across Emiliano Martínez in the 27th minute. That was unlucky. The same could not be said for the moment when he lacked the necessary balance to control and beat the Villa keeper shortly before half-time. The most damaging miss came in injury time, the striker shooting over from six yards. It summarised Everton’s predicament.

In truth, there was nothing obvious to distinguish this Everton from Dyche’s. The backline would occasionally defend closer to the halfway line, the idea of compressing the pitch theoretically offering more assistance to any advancing midfielders and forwards. Otherwise, the lack of attacking quality is lamentable.

Everton’s full-backs offer nothing going forward, their midfielders are workhorses rather than thoroughbreds, and the wingers float in and out of matches so erratically the occasional moments of involvement serve as little more than a reminder they are actually on the pitch. Such limitations cannot be fixed in two training sessions.

The most pertinent points of Moyes’ unveiling press conference resonated, the manager reiterating the urgency to find recruits. “It’s a huge challenge at the moment. I can see that,” he said.

“Sean has brought a great set of lads, good characters, but we are desperately needing quality in certain areas to craft goals. The club has not been able to go to the level of player in the market that might make the difference.

“It is that clinical action and moment to get us a goal. It is not just this game. It is there for everyone to see. I can’t magician all that to change.”

Moyes’ plight has been made worse by an ankle injury to Armando Broja that rules him out for three months and likely to end his loan from Chelsea.

Moyes added: “We will definitely have to do something. I’m sure Dychey was talking about it, too. We need to add to the squad if we can. We will try.

“I have to find a way to get a result and work out how we can score more goals. We have to improve our attacking play.”

For all that, Villa were entitled to think they could not have picked a worse time to visit Goodison Park, given the violent mood swing from desperation to hope. They could have put any trepidation to rest had they taken their first-half chances. Ashley Young’s careless backpass gifted Watkins a one-on-one with Jordan Pickford. He shot early and wide. Jacob Ramsey did likewise just before half-time from the edge of the penalty area.

The duo made amends when combining for the winner on 51 minutes, Watkins sent through by his midfielder as Jarrad Branthwaite lost possession with his defence exposed.

“He is always responding – sometimes not with goals but his work. He scored a fantastic goal,” said Unai Emery of his striker, the Villa manager anticipating greater consistency from his team in the second half of the season.

Once behind, Everton became desperate. “Come on Davie. Do something, lad,” was a desperate cry from behind the touchline as Everton’s midfielders resorted to an aerial bombardment hoping Villa’s centre-backs would wilt. They never did.

Moyes must be creative to come up with solutions. He needs help from above, preferably via his owner’s chequebook, but a request for divine intervention cannot be ruled out if Ipswich Town start winning.