Ben Foster hits out at Baggies' 'pathetic' Boo Boys
West Brom 0 Everton 2
Everton's Kevin Mirallas celebrates his goal against West Brom
Everton's Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game
West Bromwich Albion's Saido Berahino (left) battles for the ball with Everton's John Stones
Everton's James McCarthy battles for the ball with West Bromwich Albion's Craig Gardner
Everton's Kevin Mirallas celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the game
West Brom's James Morrison battles for the ball with Everton's Steven Naismith
West Brom's Cristian Gamboa battles for the ball with Everton's Kevin Mirallas
Everton's Seamus Coleman battles for the ball with West Brom's Saido Berahino
West Bromwich Albion have a new head coach and a revamped squad but there remains mutiny in the Black Country air. Just four games into the Premier League campaign, Alan Irvine is under mounting pressure and the frustration and anger over last season's struggle is still lingering with supporters.
Ben Foster, the goalkeeper, branded a section of the club's fans as "pathetic" for abusing the captain Chris Brunt and Albion seem to be on the brink of a crisis before the winter chill has even started to bite.
Irvine has seen 13 players leave and made 11 signings over the summer and undoubtedly needs time to make his mark at the Hawthorns, yet there is little sympathy for his situation. This was their second successive defeat and the boos at the final whistle could be the soundtrack of the season.
Brunt, the long-serving midfielder, was targeted by fans during their battle against relegation last season and his substitution on Saturday was greeted with ironic cheers.
Foster's dreadful mistake, which gifted Everton the crucial second goal, added to the sense of disharmony but the England goalkeeper was critical of the crowd's reaction.
"If you're getting ridiculed and abused like that it affects you and there's no need for it," he said. "It is really silly. It doesn't help at all. It's pathetic, to be honest.
"We're four games in. We're not even thinking about pressure. We are definitely a much better team than last season but it's just not going for us at the minute."
Irvine admitted after the game that he needed victories soon to ease the tension.
His job would be easier if experienced players such as Foster and Jonas Olsson avoided making needless mistakes. Olsson's poor clearance allowed Romelu Lukaku to open the scoring and then Foster inexplicably let Kevin Mirallas' 20-yard dribbler through his fingers. Those gifts helped Everton to comfortably secure their first league win and clean sheet of the season ahead of their Europa League tie against Wolfsburg on Thursday.
Roberto Martinez insisted that he would be taking the competition seriously, in a refreshing alternative to most of his peers who view it as an unwelcome distraction.
"We are not a team who wants to moan about the number of games or talk about the Europa League in a disrespectful manner," he said.
"Last year we had to work so hard for 38 games to achieve that - it would be nonsense to say that we don't want to be giving everything we've got."
