Collingwood Forever, an interactive and evolving archive of the club history, details Leigh Matthews' 224-game stint at the helm of the Black and White.
"In the mad minutes after Collingwood broke the longest and most embarrassing drought in its history in 1990, its chairman of selectors Ron Richards summed up the feeling of so many at the club and of its legion of supporters in one sentence.
Asked what had made the difference after 32 years, Richards said: “We broke the drought because we employed the greatest footballer of the post-war era and watched him become the greatest Collingwood coach.”
Sure, there was a bit of hyperbole in this comment. After all, Jock McHale won eight premierships as a coach, while Matthews’ flag return from 10 seasons as Collingwood coach was one – albeit one of the most important in the club’s history.
But, in many ways, the sentiment was not too far off the mark.
Matthews helped to transform a football club anchored by the failures of the past into a modern team committed to one another and divorced from the pressure that had attached itself to so many other black and white sides."
Click here to to read the full profile on forever.collingwoodfc.com.au.
