Regarded as one of Australia's most popular sports teams, Collingwood, as of 2013, attracted the highest attendance figures and television ratings of any professional football club in the nation, across all codes.

A string of eight Grand Final losses, often by narrow margins, between 1960 and 1981 gave rise to a perception that the club was prone to "choking", a phenomenon wittily dubbed "Colliwobbles".

The sight of club great Darren Millane, who died in a car-crash one year later, holding the ball aloft in triumph at the final siren is one of the indelible images of the match.

Matthews left as head coach at the end of the 1995 season and was replaced at the start of the following year by 1990 premiership captain Tony Shaw, who had only retired from football 18 months earlier.

He oversaw the installation of new head coach Michael Malthouse in October 1999, whose appointment proved to be a masterstroke in reviving the club on-field.

Collingwood met reigning premiers Brisbane in the 2002 Grand Final and were regarded as massive underdogs, eventually falling just 9 points short of an improbable premiership.

Buckley, the captain, became just the third player to win the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in the Grand Final despite being a member of the losing side.

After at one point trailing in the match, Collingwood went on to end Adelaide's season and earn a semi-final meeting against St Kilda.

The 2009 season saw Collingwood finish inside the top-four for the first time since 2003, but in the qualifying final were beaten by minor premiers St Kilda convincingly.

Having won a second chance, Collingwood struggled against Adelaide for the second year in a row before John Anthony kicked the match-winning goal with a minute left to send them into another preliminary final meeting with Geelong.

Following the Grand Final loss, which also marked the end of the club's 2011 AFL season, Malthouse left Collingwood after deciding not to stay on as "director of coaching".

[23] Malthouse, who had been contracted to take on a "head of coaching" role, elected to leave the club rather than put Buckley in what he regarded as an awkward position.

Buckley came under intense media pressure to resign or be sacked from his position, though club administrators elected to grant him a two-year extension to his contract in October 2017 after a broad-ranging internal review.

[29] Many criticised McGuire's response, including AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, Héritier Lumumba, former Indigenous Collingwood player Tony Armstrong and a Victorian Senator, among others.

[34] On 4 February, 150 Collingwood players from the men's and women's teams penned an open letter apologising "to anyone who, through their association with our club, has been marginalised, hurt or discriminated against due to their race.

[35] McGuire stood down as President of the Collingwood Football Club on 9 February 2021, although he had initially wanted to see the year through for a seamless transition until being compelled to step down.

[42] The 2023 season marked a shift in the club's leadership, as long-time team captain Scott Pendlebury stepped down from the role he had held from 2014 to 2022.

Key offseason additions included Tom Mitchell (from Hawthorn), Bobby Hill (from GWS), and Billy Frampton (from Adelaide) through trades, and signing Dan McStay to the club as a free agent.

[44] Collingwood had a successful second season under Craig McRae, securing a total of 18 wins and 5 losses, and ultimately finishing first overall on the ladder.

They ultimately finished ninth with a record of 12 wins, nine losses and two draws, with percentage separating them from eighth-placed arch-rival Carlton.

The lyrics were written by player Tom Nelson during Collingwood's 1906 tour of Tasmania, making it the oldest of the team songs currently used in the AFL.

Both clubs continue to draw large crowds to their meetings in each season, and the two were the subject of a 'recruiting war' throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with David Cloke, Geoff Raines, Brian Taylor, Wally Lovett, Phillip Walsh, Steven Roach, Gerald Betts, Neil Peart, Peter McCormack, Kevin Morris, Craig Stewart, Ross Brewer, Michael Lockman, Rod Oborne, Allan Edwards, John Annear, Noel Lovell and Bob Heard all exchanging clubs, as well as coach Tom Hafey (moving to Collingwood in 1977 following four flags at Punt Road).

[53] In 2004, Collingwood Football Club moved its primary administrative and training base to the purpose-built Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre at the Olympic Park Complex.

[53] The Collingwood Football Club also used Olympic Park Stadium being adjacent to Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre as its outdoor training ground from 2004 until 2012, when it was demolished.

[54] After this occurred, Collingwood Football Club moved its outdoor training ground to the newly developed Olympic Park Oval that replaced the space of the stadium after demolition.

In this period, Collingwood was also perceived as a Catholic and Irish club, at a time when these groups were looked down upon by the rest of Australian society and subjected to a considerable degree of social exclusion.

[64] In support of more inclusive sporting cultures, in 2010 the Australian fashion designer Shanaaz Copeland developed a Collingwood-inspired hijab for Muslim women.

[6] The club's extensive membership base tends to be a large crowd-pulling power, which has caused the AFL to be accused of favouring Collingwood when scheduling to maximise the league's attendance figures.

On 9 March 2007, former Collingwood and Fitzroy defender Gary Pert was appointed the Magpies' CEO, seven weeks after Greg Swann departed for Carlton.

In a press conference, it was stated that Collingwood has budgeted to turn over about $50 million that year and McGuire hoped the new administration would soon double that figure.