Alan Richardson gets to realise his AFL coaching dream

TWICE in the past year Alan Richardson must have felt his dream of coaching an AFL side was close to extinguished.

TWICE in the past year Alan Richardson must have felt his dream of coaching an AFL side was close to extinguished.

As recently as late 2012 he was a leading assistant at Carlton under Brett Ratten, happily building on his coaching resume.

News_Rich_Media: Former Port Adelaide assistant Alan Richardson speaks to the media for the first time since being unveiled as the new St Kilda coach.

He had finished second to Scott Watters in 2011 and in the last three contenders when Richmond appointed Damien Hardwick - surely his time would come.

But when Mick Malthouse arrived at Visy Park Richardson's position was untenable given a strained relationship from their time at Collingwood.

At the Pies Richardson was the development head seeking more training time for his pupils and Malthouse instead sided with fitness boss David Buttifant.

So Richardson left his family in Melbourne and instead joined a Port Adelaide outfit seen as irrelevant, financially destitute and a competition easybeat.

Is there a less likely platform to enhance your reputation as a senior coach?

Yet former Collingwood player Richardson has not only built an undeniable case from across the border, he has become St Kilda's coach after knocking them back as late as Tuesday night.

In every way it is an extraordinary story for the man whose claim to fame was once failing a shock fitness test on his collarbone from coach Leigh Matthews in the days before Collingwood's 1990 premiership.

Raise all the questions you want about a St Kilda process which saw him effectively guaranteed the job before presenting, or Port Adelaide's stubborn refusal to release him before a $15,000 sweetener.

The one undoubted fact is that Richardson is the man for desperate times at St Kilda.

It is an added bonus that Richardson is everything sacked coach Scott Watters is not: stripped of ego, a brilliant teacher, a quality communicator, a coach happy to delegate to his assistants.

But after coaching at seven AFL clubs and being employed as a line coach, a development boss, and a coaching director, this man is ready to take charge of St Kilda.

Yesterday there were no bold promises, no determination to be the hardest team to play against in the competition.

Just a steely determination to roll up his sleeves and drag St Kilda back to respectability.

Port Adelaide banged the drums all day before being bought off with a handful of gold coins.

They might claim moral victory, but surely clubs holding coaches against their will is a bastardisation of the AFL Coaches Association charter.

That non-binding charter was brought in to stop coaches being poached in Grand Final week, and to stop clubs luring contracted assistants to perform the identical task at their club.

It was never about restricting coaches from achieving their life's dream.

In what world is the elevation from director of coaching - a fancy title but essentially an assistant coach - not a clear promotion?

Richardson's task is immense.

He must unite a frazzled and skittish club still scarred from six weeks of hell trigged the moment Clint Jones lit a dwarf on Mad Monday.

Morale is poor, key staffers have left, the list is at least year on from ground zero but still a work in progress.

The club will lose millions this year with the promise of further losses, and key sponsors still need to be found.

But Richardson was a key player as a stable administration backed by AFL support and on-field success resurrected Port Adelaide this year.

It is a herculean task, but St Kilda couldn't have a better man for the job.