John Cottam (born 5 June 1950, Warsop) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Apart from loan spells with Mansfield Town and Lincoln City, Cottam remained at Forest until August 1976, making nearly 100 league appearances in the process.
In July 1979 he moved to divisional rivals Chester for £12,500,[1] making his debut in a Football League Cup tie against Walsall the following month.
[2] In his first season, he missed just one of Chester's 58 first-team games[3] and helped the Blues reach the FA Cup fifth round.
[3] Ahead of the 1982–83 season, Cottam moved to Alliance Premier League side Scarborough as player–manager, taking Chester players David Burns and Brynley Jones with him.