Regional Identity at a Football Match

On 12 January 2008, I went to see whether nationalism portrayed through music was evident at domestic games in England. The music I would be taking note of would be the music played through stadium speakers and chants sung by supporters. I went to see a game at the highest level, in the English Barclays Premier League, which was a game between Everton and Manchester City. This was a derby between two big footballing cities, Liverpool and Manchester. The game was held at Goodison Park, Everton’s ground, in the city of Liverpool. Everton won the game 1-0; 38,474 fans attended the game and, of that number, about 10% would have been Manchester City fans. I was sitting with Everton supporters, but very near the Manchester City fans. It is traditional that at games where a team is playing away, all the away fans join together and sing out chants to support their team, because – as is evident from the recordings, the away fans are in the minority.

Some fans would have got together ahead of the match, perhaps at a local bar a few hours before, and selected which chants they would begin to sing, so that the fans could join in, though many chants would be spontaneous. Some chants would refer to current affairs, whereas some chants would be traditional and part of the club’s history. At football matches, both sets of fans will sing chants. Sometimes they will be sung individually, sometimes at the same time so that neither can be heard, but the two sets of opposing fans will never sing the same chant together. It is very much the home team and its fans, versus the away team and its fans.

The songs allow the fans to feel united and accepted within the group, but is it the same as feeling patriotic at a national game? This game certainly demonstrates examples of regional and local identity, despite both teams being situated in the north-west of England. These examples will be expressed through music similarly to how this occurs on national occasions, when nationalism is evident.

The match begins with music as the players run onto the pitch. Songs are played with lyrics designed to bring Everton fans together. Lyrics such as “We’re forever Everton” and “All for one, one for all” are clear examples of music encouraging local and regional identity, they certainly ignite strong feelings of brotherhood and exclusiveness to one’s team. This identity is encouraged in the same way that national identity is encouraged when some of these players and fans play at or attend international games.

Extra camaraderie is conjured up between supporters as they all sing along and feel part of something communal. The music played at the stadium starts the home fans singing and gives them an advantage over the away fans, who have to drown them out and who have none of their songs being played on the stadium’s loud speakers. Having been started by the music played at the stadium, soon the supporters launch into their own chants on their own accord.

Early on, the chant “Shall we sing a song for you” highlights the importance of music at these occasions. This antagonises the opposition fans who are not seen to be supporting their team enough through their own chanting. Many fans will spend hundreds of pounds on shirts, hats, scarves, flags, and countless other items, yet it seems through music that the most support and dedication is demonstrated. The “we” certainly reflects Manchester and Manchester City fans hence both the geographic and personal identities are linked here. Aggressive chants such as “Who are ya, who are ya” also are sometimes aimed at questioning a team’s support if there has been a lack of chanting.

It is very interesting that any response would be to say “We’re Everton”, a kind of ‘paradigmatic substitution’ (Thomas Turino: Nationalists, Cosmopolitans and Popular Music in Zimbabwe) of the place name/club name for ‘I am John’ or whatever someone’s name happens to be. These are all sung by the Manchester City fans who, just by being heard so clearly, are sure to be frustrating the Everton fans. Though these chants are all sung at international level in football and show national camaraderie, here they are all purely at regional and local level and the answer to such a question of differentiation between the two implies a different identification and, crucially, a different paradigmatic substitution.

At one stage there is a substitution as Manchester City’s Italian Rolando Bianchi enters the fray. Immediately after the announcement, the Manchester City supporters as one all enter into choruses of “Bianchi, whoa, Bianchi, whoa, he comes from Italy, he plays for Man City”. This is a very common chant, which is sung to foreigners playing for one’s team, showing the player that the fans recognise their culture and heritage. Respect for Italian nationalism is shown through chanting, but the local association emphasised. Were an England international to appear, the chants I have heard (although there were none on this particular day) are “England’s number one” or “X for England”. Those chants, however, are generally prompted by additional motives to displaying examples of nationalism. They are more a chant for England coaches to hear, or in order to mock the opposition supporters that they have ‘England’s number 1’ in their team and the opposition does not. In addition, the chants represent English nationalism when chanted at any venue, domestically or internationally.

“We shall not be moved” sounds out from the Everton fans. This chant is certainly one that could be heard at an international match and would display nationalism – this nation cannot be defeated. Here it is Everton fans saying Manchester City are fruitless in their efforts to brush Everton aside and win. Sometimes a display of national identity, sung here it is both recognising regional identity (we shall not be moved from where we come from) and antagonizing the opposition. The nation is replaced by the region. Interestingly, this particular chant was a protest song originally, so there is a sub-text of a threatened minority drawing links to Appadurai’s claim that they would be seeking the image of the majority.

The match ends and Everton are victorious. The traditional club songs are sounded and the Everton fans all unite and join in together. It must be said that many fans turn and point at the Manchester City fans, singing this song directly at them in a confrontational manner. Fans act exactly how they would at an international match. Chants are generally the same with a few appropriate additions, such as club songs and more spontaneous responses. However there is no singing about being English today. The chanting is unifying Everton fans and shows high signs of regional solidarity through the same methods in which fans would show nationalism at an international match. Identity is swapped for the day and music is the fundamental element and the catalyst of this identity.

Even the term “regional identity” may be slightly misleading, as many Everton and Manchester City fans held huge official club flags with another town’s name on it, such as “Everton F.C. London Blues”. These flags suggest that these particular supporters now reside down in the south of England, away from Everton, yet parading such a fact is seemingly acceptable and respected. The fact that fans have to travel so far to see their team is a sign of the level of support. Possibly the fan was brought up in Liverpool and migrated, but if the fan were born in London, what is the geographical connection with Everton? Is the chanting for them merely for Everton Football Club? It would seem to be the case, whilst also possibly for an imagined identity, again as Appadurai and indeed Anderson state.

Football is a cosmopolitan game nowadays and foreigners permeate the modern game. Everton has one of the most English squads in the Premier League, yet only five out of the starting eleven for Everton were English, and four out of the five substitutes. Manchester City has many foreigners in their squad, yet also fielded five English born players, although all five substitutes were foreign. Additionally, Everton are managed by a Scotsman and Manchester City by the Swedish Sven Goran Eriksson. With such a vast array of nationalities showcasing their talents, it is possible that English nationalism is difficult to create in modern day English domestic football, hence the fact that regional identity is emphasised even more. Only one player that started for Everton (and ironically one Manchester City player who is an ex-Everton player) was born in the city of Liverpool, and no Manchester City players were born in Manchester. Nowadays, “adopted sons” from all over the nation, as well as from other nations, wear the precious shirt and play for the badge. All of this links heavily to Turino’s work on post-colonial Zimbabwe, with insight into his work made previously, deeper understanding can be gained here.

Is this morally right? National identity is not evident at domestic level (or perhaps blurred by the number of different nationalities), but regional identity is certainly apparent and drawn out through music in the same way as nationalism is portrayed at international fixtures. It is maintained by chanting, singing and shouting, even by fans who do not themselves now live in that region or perhaps never lived in that region.

On the train ride back to London I managed to sit in between two sets of opposing fans. Initially they were engaged in civilised conversations about their team’s positive and negative aspects on show that day, before the alcohol rose to prominence, and they began criticising each others’ team in the most common way, through chanting and singing together. Here more typical one-liners were chanted, and regional identity was much more obvious than before. Yet this train is returning to London, so it is full of fans that are not currently situated where the team, which they so proudly support, is based.

The losing side’s fans, Manchester City, have to look for less obvious ways to make a point. They begin with “Worst support we’ve ever seen” (Everton recently topped a poll calculating the amount of support fans give). The Manchester City fans continue to pursue this objective with “Shit ground, Shit fans”. Everton fans manage to intercept with a witty line highlighting how at least Everton own their ground, and a chorus of “You get your ground from the council” and “Squatters rights”. Manchester City fans then retaliate with “You nicked my stereo”, a chant directed at the high crime rate of the suburb of Everton, this is a stereotypical line. Because Liverpool was named Europe’s City of Culture, Manchester City then sing, “Culture club, you’re having a laugh”. This is an example of a current affairs chant, a chant that will not be sung for long. In between the chants you keep hearing Manchester City fans quipping to one another about why Everton fans cannot sing at the match. They are clearly riled at recent suggestions in the press that Everton’s support is superior to theirs. This press calculation was made on levels of noise made, i.e. singing heard at stadiums. These supporters correlate with Anderson’s theories as there seems to be a certain amount of imagined identity since they are imagining themselves as part of a regional identity of which they don’t actually take part? Sport (and song in sport) facilitates this identification.

Askew always draws on regional identity in her studies on nationalism in Tanzania. It is a powerful social force. In domestic games, national identity is replaced by regional identity and/or local identity. The repetition of rituals reinforces identity at some level. The welcoming music that the stadium plays at every match unifies the Everton support. Those fans who sing the same chants when England are playing, now oppose each other, using music to mock their rivals as these examples from a Manchester versus Liverpool city rivalry reflect. Stereotypical lines, such as “You’ve got no jobs” sung to the Everton fans, which reflects Everton’s geographical location in what is known to be one of the poorest suburbs in England.

It clearly does not matter to Everton fans (and to generalise, probably to all sets of domestic fans) where you reside, as long as you are truly behind the club. Banners such as “Everton F.C. London Blues” are appreciated due to the commitment those fans make in attending games. Perhaps a different mentality is held towards the fans who do not journey so much. Everton fans have a facebook group site. The official slogan read and edited by all 10,000 fans on the site reads; ‘This club is for those fans who have to wakeup or stay up and watch the boys play at 7:30 am or during the middle of the night – for the Merseyside Derby and every other match that we can watch. This group is for those people who get into trouble with the other half, for checking on the latest news from Everton – even when they’re supposed to be doing something else. This is the group for Everton fans, who know their history…This group welcomes fans of EFC – located or living anywhere in the world. Plainly accepted, yet seemingly more imagined identity by these fans when it come to emotions other than following their football team.

Everton’s club song, which accompanies the players onto the pitch, is itself an example of paradigmatic substitution, because the words have been changed to suit Everton. ‘It’s a Grand Old Team’ or ‘And if You Know Your History’ are derived from the original Celtic versions, designed to magnify Glaswegian pride and hostility towards their city neighbours Rangers. The Rangers versus Celtic rivalry reflects a number of factors: religious (Protestant and Catholic); political (republicanism and unionism); regional/cultural (British and celtic/Scottish). The music also reflects this and has influenced other rivalries, such as Everton and Liverpool, so the musical traditions which provide Everton’s songs have a rich history.

Lyrics have been adapted to suit the Everton cause, and as shown, there have been incorporations make it an anti Liverpool tune with “We don’t care what the red shite say” replacing “We don’t care what the animals say”. This song is an example of regionalism, but also it is exclusive to only a proportion of the city. In Celtic’s case it is very much for Glasgow Celtic and against Glasgow Rangers. Likewise in Everton’s case the song is pro Everton and anti-Liverpool, hence particular local identity and pride is what is shown.
The lyrics certainly insight and provoke emotion and passion in supporters. The title of it shows how history can be the catalyst in finding nationalism and regional pride. Other Everton songs central to the club, with similar alterations from other teams would be ‘Everton’ sung to the tune ‘Here we go’ which is used to display nationalism at English matches, sung frequently by England fans. Another song used by England fans is ‘All together now’ which as been recorded and altered for Everton fans.

Regional, local and national identity are formed through music at these live spectacles.  Possibly many are oblivious and there are certainly many angles to dissect around this subject, but the identity is undoubtedly present and a prominent feature of the modern game despite increasing cosmopolitan elements.