True Cosmopolitanism or Notional Acceptance of Non-National Players in English Football: Or, why ‘bloody foreigners’ get blamed when ‘things go wrong’

The essay focuses upon the issue of xenophobia in English football cultures, utilizing data taken from a random sample of Liverpool and Oldham Athletic ‘e-zine’ messageboard fan-sites (from 1 April 2004 to 31 May 2005). Recognizing that xenophobia may exist within, as well as across, national boundaries, this essay considers the conditions under which xenophobic comments may emerge. The essay finds that both fan groups can be critical of players. However, the circumstance under which each fan group is likely to ‘become’ xenophobic differs. For instance, Oldham Athletic supporters are more likely to use national boundaries to formulate ‘otherness’ during international tournaments, whilst Liverpool fans are more likely to ‘blame’ non-local British players during periods of poor on-the-pitch results.