HIGH in the main stand at Goodison sat a group of superheroes, waiting for their call to action.

Leading the way was the indomitable Mr Incredible, followed by the legendary Superman, an imposing Bananaman, a bloke dressed as a giant Smurf, and, er, “Beer” Man.

Quite an array of talent, yet none of them could come to the rescue of an again misfiring Everton team on Saturday.

Instead, it was the clutch of injured players sat either in the directors’ box or kicking their heels at home that David Moyes sorely needs to see parading their wares as soon as possible.

Another home game, another hugely disappointing home draw.

Of course, with Aston Villa harbouring hopes of a top-four challenge and having already downed Liverpool and Chelsea, this was a more testing proposition than the recent visits of Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But so poor were the Midlanders, particularly during the first half, that Moyes had every right to consider this an opportunity missed to gain a confidence-boosting victory and propel this team back into the top half of the Premier League table.

Everton recovered from a woeful start last season to ultimately record a second successive fifth-place finish and reach the FA Cup final, aided by a run of just two defeats in 23 games that began after the last-gasp home defeat to Saturday’s opponents last December.

The landscape has changed since then, however. Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur continue to challenge the top-four with greater conviction and, more pertinently, too many of Everton’s walking wounded, despite the return of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Leighton Baines and Joseph Yobo at the weekend, are still some way from a first-team return.

No wonder Moyes spoke later of the danger of his team dropping further points and giving themselves too much to do when playing catch-up later in the campaign.

The Goodison manager is loathe to lower his Premier League sights, but the longer the current form extends – this was a sixth successive game without a victory – the less choice he will have in the matter.

Admittedly, after Carling Cup elimination at White Hart Lane on Tuesday completed a spell of three harrowing defeats inside six days, it was imperative that losing tide was stemmed.

And while an improvement at the weekend, Everton remain unconvincing no matter how Moyes shuffles his pack or tweaks the formation.

For all the talk of players being out of position, the changes made by the Goodison manager at the weekend meant there was only Tim Cahill, asked to ostensibly patrol the right flank, in an unaccustomed role.

John Heitinga and Jack Rodwell sat in defensive central midfield roles where both enjoyed encouraging afternoons, the former revelling in a combative encounter to deliver his best performance since arriving from Atletico Madrid on deadline day.