Every club claims history means something. Nottingham Foresters can actually prove it: founded in 1857, they are the oldest club in the entire league, professional or semi-pro, three years senior even to Hallam Originals in the Alliance Semi-Pro tier. For most of this final Elite Division season, though, that history has been a footnote to a mid-table campaign that's neither threatened Europe nor flirted with relegation.
Their manager, in an interview timed around the club's anniversary celebrations, made no secret of his frustration with that quiet mediocrity. "We're the oldest club in this country's football. I don't think 'comfortably mid-table' is good enough for what this shirt represents. I want this group to actually chase something before this season is out, not just see it out."
It's a bold thing to say about a squad currently eighth, eleven points off the European qualification places with limited games left to close the gap. But the anniversary has clearly stirred something inside the club — a renewed push in the final matches, a supporters' campaign leaning hard on the club's founding-year pride, and a manager publicly setting a target his squad may not be able to reach.
Whether that ends in European qualification or a respectable near-miss, Nottingham Foresters' place in the game's history isn't going anywhere — 1857 is 1857, whatever happens between now and May.