Reason why Ragnick at Moscow was the biggest fraud in Russian football , this man did things that Russian football won’t forget ,be careful Manchester United.

 Manchester United's new interim manager

 only took on his role in Russia in July, but

 faced heavy criticism from both fans and

 members of the media.

If you had read the Russian press – and 

especially Russian social networks – 

in recent days, then you would have come 

away with the impression that Ralf Rangnick's 

work at Lokomotiv Moscow was hugely

 unpopular.

Most journalists and fans are outraged

 by the apparent damage the German 

tactician did to the club, only for him to then 

suddenly leave so as to take the interim 

manager's job at Manchester United.

As described by Sergey Kolesnikov 

of Sportbox.ru, some claim that Rangnick's 

tenure has been "the biggest fraud in 

Russian football history".

Dmitry Selyuk, the provocative agent best

 known for representing Yaya Toure,

 compared Rangnick to Ostap Bender, 

the most famous fictional crook in Russian

 literature.

Countless jokes and memes have 

been spread far and wide, leaving Lokomotiv

 to be laughed at mercilessly by rival

 supporters.

Rangnick is being blamed for dismantling

 a decent team that was fairly functional 

last season, finishing third so as to qualify 

for Europa League, while also winning 

the Russian Cup.

But following a major summer overhaul

, they are now 11 points behind leaders 

Zenit after just 16 matches, having won 

just two of their last nine fixtures. 

On Monday, they were soundly thrashed 

3-1 by lowly Arsenal Tula.

Rangnick's first unpopular decision after

 his appointment in July was selling midfield

 stalwart Grzegorz Krychowiak against 

the player's wishes. The Poland international

 was bought by Lokomotiv's direct rivals 

Krasnodar for just €2.5 million (£2.1m/$2.8m)

 in early August, and is enjoying a 

strong season, with four goals to 

his name so far.

The list of summer signings, meanwhile

, included French midfielder Alexis Beka

 Beka from Ligue 2 outfit Caen and Dutch

 winger Gyrano Kerk from Utrecht, both 

of whom cost €6m (£5m/$7m) each.

Lokomotiv also paid Moscow rivals 

CSKA hefty sums for unproven midfielders 

Konstantin Maradishvili and Nair

 Tiknizyan, as pundits commented that

 Rangnick's strategy in the transfer 

market was both needlessly expensive

 and risky.

It was not just with the playing staff 

where Rangnick made unpopular 

decisions, either.

Marko Nikolic was a popular coach

 with Lokomotiv followers, and generally 

considered a very hard working and honest

 manager. His future, though, was in 

doubt from the moment Rangnick arrived

, as his defensive style and lack of high 

pressing was not suitable for the new 

concepts that were being introduced.

It was hardly surprising, therefore, that 

the Serbian left by mutual consent in 

early October. He was replaced by Markus

 Gisdol, who is largely seen by the Russian

 media as being Rangnick's puppet.

Former Lokomotiv president Nikolay 

Naumov criticised the appointment, 

saying: "He is not a coach, but rather a 

secretary. Rangnick doesn't need someone

 like [Jose] Mourinho or [Roberto] Mancini

, but rather a man who will follow his 

instructions.

"They came to the club with just one

 goal – to turn Lokomotiv into a business 

of buying and selling players. Results aren't

 important for them, and they need 

an anonymous coach who was willing 

to take a good salary and do what they say."

Now, with Rangnick's departure to 

United confirmed, it was widely assumed 

that the whole system he brought in would 

fall apart, leaving Lokomotiv in ruins.

Such a view, though, seems like it will 

be proven incorrect, for no more reason 

than Rangnick's role and his entire

 project in Moscow has been totally 

misunderstood.

For starters, despite the fact that he will

 be in the Old Trafford dugout on Sunday

 when Crystal Palace take on United, 

Rangnick has not 'left' Lokomotiv – simply

 because he never had an official job within

 the club in the first place.

Described upon his appointment as the 

club's manager of sports and development

, he was not actually on the Lokomotiv 

payroll, and his name never appeared 

on the official club website. Instead, a 

contract was signed with his agency, 

Rangnick Kornetka Consulting, which 

basically made him a freelance advisor.

"The contract is still intact, and the project is 

supposed to go on," Ivan Zhidkov, chief 

editor of the Sport Den Za Dnem newspaper

, tells GOAL. "Lars Kornetka, Rangnick's 

right-hand man, will continue to work with

 Lokomotiv on a daily basis, and Rangnick 

himself is supposed to have the last word

 on the most important issues.

"Rangnick took his work at Lokomotiv 

extremely seriously. He brought an entire

 team of scouting specialists, who now 

work for a club that didn't have a proper

 scouting department at all before his arrival.

"There are new standards as far as 

medical staff and dietitians are concerned.

 The plan is to make the club much 

more professional and modern."

Rangnick's appointment was always 

done with a long-term view, and the transfer

 market strategy, for example, is not - as 

Naumov claimed - to be a selling club, but 

rather to make the club more efficient while 

excelling on the pitch.

"According to Rangnick's philosophy, 

only ambitious young players should be 

signed, and they shouldn't be over the age 

of 25," Zhidkov explains. "Investments 

should be made in those who want to grow, 

rather than in veterans whose motivation

 could be wrong for the project."

Rangnick made significant efforts to 

explain the project during his time in 

Russia. He held a special press conference

 in the weeks before the news broke

 of United's interest in him, but instead 

of discussing the strategy and the future, 

journalists kept asking the German about

 Nikolic and Krychowiak, focusing 

on the past.

He also invited leaders of fan movements

 for a friendly chat at a restaurant in October

, but it remains unclear whether they were

 convinced by his methods.

"It is very important to understand that 

it is a long term project, led by top 

specialists. It would be ridiculous to judge

 it based on immediate results, but people 

don't want to understand that," Zhidkov 

continues. "Most of the journalism in 

Russia is driven by pure emotion. Most 

of the analysis is very shallow.

"It is already possible to see that Beka 

Beka, for example, is making significant 

progress, and at the age of 20 he is a very

 promising footballer. These things take

 time."

Rangnick is, therefore, completely 

misunderstood in Russia, though it must

 be said that the very vague description 

of his role has not helped his cause.

His work at Lokomotiv has only just started

, and it was not supposed to end after 

just four months when Manchester United 

came calling. As such, success or 

failure should not be measured 

quite so soon.

Russian fans and journalists are only 

capable of looking at immediate impressions,

 though, and former Lokomotiv general 

director Ilya Gerkus claimed that, "there

 are three matches left in 2021. If the 

Germans achieve good results, they will

 continue. If they don't, they won't."

Rangnick is almost certain to face the 

same problem in England, too. Despite 

only being the interim manager at 

United, he will inevitably be judged by 

what happens on the field, even if the

 true purpose for his appointment does 

not begin until the summer.

That said, his role as a consultant 

during the next two seasons is extremely

 vague – even more so than at Lokomotiv

 - and thus fans and journalists alike are 

extremely unlikely to be patient with 

him and trust his process if results 

under the coach he helps to appoint 

do not improve.

And so while Rangnick is definitely

 not guilty of being "the biggest fraud 

in Russian football history", and nor is 

he a crook, there are lessons in what 

he has done at Lokomotiv that Manchester

 United fans would do well to learn 

from in the coming weeks, months

 and years.