Nottingham Forest Women have ended their working relationship with head coach Carly Davies, the club confirmed, drawing a line under a WSL 2 campaign that saw them finish seventh. No reasons have been given for the departure, and no successor has been announced — which means Forest's summer is already shaping up to be a busy one.
According to BBC Sport, Forest Women and Davies have parted company following the conclusion of the WSL 2 season. The club have not publicly detailed whether the split was mutual or driven by one side, and no timeline for appointing a replacement has been offered. For now, the dugout is empty.
Seventh place in WSL 2 is the kind of finish that sits in an uncomfortable middle ground — not a relegation battle, not a promotion push. It is the sort of season that prompts a club to ask whether the project is moving in the right direction fast enough. Evidently, Forest's answer was no.
The search for Davies's successor will tell you a lot about where Forest Women see themselves going. A club with the backing and profile of Nottingham Forest — fresh off their own resurgence in the men's game — has the infrastructure to attract genuine ambition in the women's coaching market. Whether they move for an established WSL name, a rising coach from the Championship or abroad, or promote from within remains entirely open.
What the club cannot afford is a long, drawn-out process. Pre-season recruitment in the women's game moves quickly, and a new head coach will want input on the squad before the window closes. Every week without an appointment is a week of planning lost.
Managerial changes in WSL 2 rarely make the back pages, but they matter. The second tier is where the women's game in England is being quietly built — clubs like Forest, with real resources and a fanbase that can grow, are exactly the ones who should be pushing for promotion rather than settling into mid-table. Davies leaves with the job unfinished. Whoever walks through the door next will be expected to change that.
Forest have not elaborated on their ambitions for the 2026-27 season. They probably don't need to. Seventh place said enough.
Nottingham Forest Women have ended their working relationship with head coach Carly Davies, the club confirmed, drawing a line under a WSL 2 campaign that saw them finish seventh.
Sources
BBC Sport — Football
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