NOT for the first time, the chant "you’re getting sacked in the morning" resonated around the KC Stadium last night.

But that it was David Moyes and not Phil Brown being mercilessly taunted said everything about a disappointing night for Everton both on and off the pitch.

The Goodison faithful have grown accustomed to riding an emotional rollercoaster this season, but rarely can they have experienced such a range of emotions inside a single 90 minutes.

From the depths of despair during a truly embarrassing first half to the hope generated by a second-half comeback, the phrase a game of two halves was invented for games like this. Yet ultimately this was another costly defeat that extends Everton’s run of form to a solitary win in 11 and leaves them firmly ensconced in the bottom half of the table.

The blame for that lies with an utterly dreadful opening 45 minutes that will hopefully prove the nadir of this campaign.

Certainly, Everton will do well to sink any lower, Moyes later rightly berating the attitude and effort of his team as Stephen Hunt, Andy Dawson and Dean Marney all profited from the visitors’ dismal defending before half-time.

At least some semblance of pride was restored after the interval, Kamil Zayatte finding his own net and then conceding the penalty from which Louis Saha struck his 10th goal of the season.

But the damage was already done on an evening that will have far-reaching consequences for the club.

Before kick-off, news emerged that Everton’s planned ground move to Kirkby had been knocked back by the Government.

The Destination Kirkby project has proven a hugely divisive issue for the Everton support, with the plan having as many objectors as supporters.

Yet all are agreed that something must be done, whether it is a complete overhaul of Goodison Park or a new stadium, to make the club more competitive in the commercially-driven Premier League era.

Now the club find themselves back to square one and left to contemplate their next course of action.

Of more immediate concern for Moyes is coaxing more from his players ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby.

With the suspended Marouane Fellaini adding to the lengthy absentee list, the Everton manager was again forced to improvise with his team selection last night.

There was, however, the major positive of Steven Pienaar making his first appearance since injuring his knee at Portsmouth two months earlier.

The South African lasted the full 90 minutes and, while understandably short on sharpness, demonstrated in patches the creativity Everton have sorely been lacking during his time on the sidelines.

Tim Cahill was shifted back into central midfield after an unhappy spell on the flanks, with Jack Rodwell employed on the right.

But now matter how Moyes shuffles his pack, Everton are struggling to come up with a winning hand, not helped by certain players not exactly over-exerting themselves in the opening period.

Moyes, criticised in many quarters for his negative approach at Old Trafford on Saturday, started with both Yakubu and Jo in attack.

But if anything, Everton’s first- half performance – and their subsequent revival after the break when Yakubu was replaced by Dan Gosling – justified the conservative approach of the Goodison manager.