Every match that Collingwood plays feels like it's the most important game in the world.

But the truth is that some games matter more than others. And some have impacts that last for decades, even if that significance isn't always apparent at the time.

So here is a trawl through the history books to come up with the most significant games in Magpie history. These aren't just the biggest wins or the most memorable days, but the games that had a significant influence on the club's history.

We've excluded all finals, simply because otherwise the list would almost be completely taken up with premierships and a few painful Grand Final losses. But the home-and-away games covered in this series have had a huge impact on the club – sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. They've led to club turmoil, coaches being sacked, major changes in the game or sometimes set us on the path to a flag.

Whatever the outcome, these games represent major turning points in our club's story. And they're worth recalling.

The drama before the revival: 1976

The 1976 season was not a happy one for the Collingwood Football Club.

It was a year marked by internal discontent: the coach feuding with the president, the players feuding with each other, discipline at an all-time low, and performances hitting unacceptably poor levels. In the end, it surprised nobody that we finished with our first-ever wooden spoon.

And the slide to that nadir started early in the season. In fact, it actually started before the season, when former skipper Des Tuddenham was enticed back from Essendon to once again lead the club.

While that seemed like a good idea on the surface, it wasn't one that had been universally supported internally. Even coach Murray Weideman didn't think it was a great idea. And the doubters were soon proved correct, as Tuddy wasn't quite the player he had been, and his appointment as captain also disenfranchised the existing leader, Wayne Richardson.

There was also a lot of disharmony within the playing group over the question of contracts. Under the damn-the-tradition stewardship of president Ern Clarke, the club had finally begun to move towards individualised contracts for all players. And while that benefitted the highest end of players such as Phil Carman and Len Thompson, it created issues elsewhere.

So there were rumblings and serious levels of discontent even before the season got underway. And things could not have got off to a worse start on the field, either, with a 57-point thrashing at the hands of Carlton at Princes Park in the opening round. The next week, back in the comfortable confines of Victoria Park and up against the lowly South Melbourne, the Pies were expected to kick-start their season. Instead, the Swans prevailed by 11 points after trailing by four goals at half-time.

The Pies could justifiably point to their wayward kicking – 16.27 was a woeful return from 43 scoring shots – as having been largely to blame, but the bottom line was they allowed South Melbourne, the team which had finished last in 1975, to kick 20.14 against them on their own turf! To make matters worse, six of those goals came from a former Magpie, Robert Dean.

The Age said Collingwood supporters had cried "tears of blood" on what was a "dismal" day. This was the Swans' first win at Victoria Park in 17 years. Len Thompson was dragged from the field in the last quarter and was booed by his own fans. Rene Kink kicked 2.7. Phil Carman started on fire but then lost interest and was well held by John Rantall. And coach Weideman was conspicuously absent in the rooms after the game.

Phil Carman had an indifferent season in 1976

All hell broke loose at Victoria Park in the wake of the loss to the Swans. Weideman was called before the committee to try to make sense of the result. But he couldn't: nobody could.

Then came the bombshell: Wayne and Max Richardson, two of the club's finest servants, were dropped for the first time in their careers. Wayne subsequently attacked the committee in a media interview, saying he felt they "had him in the gun". He said the players were unhappy with the administration, criticised Weideman for not pushing the players hard enough and also accused Clarke of interfering in selections.

The club had scarcely ever experienced an outburst like it, especially from such an experienced and respected player. But with discipline failing everywhere they had to take a stand, and after an extraordinary meeting on the Saturday morning suspended Richardson for four weeks.

Brother Max was getting changed to play for the reserves later that day when he learned of Wayne's suspension. He queried the reasons for his own demotion with reserves coach Ron Richards, and was told it was partly disciplinary and partly down to attitude. He was also told he could please himself about playing, so he pulled out of the reserves and watched from the stands as the club descended into chaos.

Unsurprisingly, the seniors were beaten by Hawthorn by a whopping 88 points that afternoon. Carman was accused of storming off mid-match, though club officials later blamed injury.

Clarke went on the attack afterwards, saying the club would not fall apart over one player. But he was only partly right; the club was indeed falling apart – it was just over much more than one player.

Things didn't get much better in the weeks and months to come. Just a couple of weeks later, Weideman publicly denounced Clarke and said he could no longer work under him. They papered over the cracks publicly after a heated meeting at club HQ, but just weeks later Clarke resigned due to business commitments.

That might have ended the rows between coach and president, but it did little to improve the team's fortunes on the field. The infighting continued, as did the poor form, and the Pies finished the season in last place with six wins. Weideman was gone as coach soon afterwards.

It had been a horrible year – one of the most fractious and divided in the club's history. And yet just 12 months later they were within one lousy behind of snagging a premiership under new coach Tom Hafey. That's how quickly footy can turn around – but it must have seemed a long way away after those early rounds of 1976.

Turning Points
Written by Glenn McFarlane and Michael Roberts

Turning Points: A game of belief.

Turning Points: The first game.

Turning Points: History's ugly repeat.

Turning Points: Honouring the greater good.

Turning Points: A turning point for football.

Turning Points: How we landed McHale.

Turning Points: Ending the Cat empire.

Turning Points: The practice match that led to a revolution.

Turning Points: Starting from the bottom.

Turning Points: Attacking the Cats.