Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already shown Liverpool four things it should never do since Man Utd takeover

Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to take Manchester United up to the level of Real Madrid. But while even he accepts this will be a long process, he probably didn't anticipate going backward before making any progress, with his tenure so far one big reminder to Liverpool of what not to do.

His spell as minority owner has already yielded silverware, albeit under the guidance of a manager Ratcliffe was minded to sack until an embarrassing review process drew a blank on viable alternatives. But the trophy cabinet certainly does not tell the story of a bungled culture reset that leaves Manchester United looking as shabby as ever.

This is not Ratcliffe's first experience at a football club, with his business INEOS holding control at Ligue 1 side Nice. Yet a series of rookie mistakes have made FSG look like saints for the work they have done at Anfield.

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Ratcliffe has also provided Liverpool's US owners with a timely reminder. He's already committed (or is in the process of committing) four cardinal sins that FSG should avoid at all costs.

Never sell Anfield naming rights

FSG certainly haven't got everything right from day one, but Anfield is something they've consistently been pretty good on. They decided very early on that they had no intention of moving Liverpool from its historic home, and have instead invested millions in making it a state-of-the-art venue.

Ratcliffe is open to the idea of abandoning Old Trafford altogether and starting from scratch with a new stadium. ESPN claims that is his preference.

But even if Manchester United stays put, Ratcliffe is reportedly open to flogging the Old Trafford naming rights to the highest bidder (The Athletic). He might not be literally demolishing the most tangible piece of the club's history, but he's minded to show a brazen disregard for it by treating its very name as a bargaining chip.

Barcelona has led the way with the "Spotify Camp Nou", where the message of "more than a club" embedded into the architecture now rings hollow. What seems like an easy win on the balance sheet is actually a slap in the face for fans, and a sure sign of an owner who simply doesn't get it.

Never treat staff poorly

No large business always gets their treatment of staff 100 per cent spot on. But Ratcliffe has come in at Manchester United and immediately struck the completely wrong note.

In what I'm terming "High Performance Podcast energy", Ratcliffe has straight away kicked up a fuss about standards of cleanliness, and also decided that working from home arrangements are unacceptable (The Athletic). All very performatively standard-setting, but with little to no regard for the human implications.

Okay, there's nothing wrong with asking for offices to be kept tidier, although it's a bit rubbish of him to come in and immediately tell everyone they've been doing a poor job. To that end, he reportedly offered all non-footballing staff voluntary redundancy, underlining the apparent view that he sees them as all expendable.

And it will be hard to ensure the office remains spick and span with so many more people coming in. There's apparently a lack of desks and workstations to accommodate all of the staff, and working from home arrangements are a lifeline for many employees, but all that has been swept to one side by the Ratcliffe revolution. It's poor form.

Never undermine the women's team

FSG must hold their hands up here and admit it took a little while to get things right with the Liverpool Women. Champions in the early days of the WSL, the club soon found itself behind the curve, and dropped into the second tier for a time.

But belatedly, Liverpool is doing all of the right things. Title-winning coach Matt Beard is back, the team has returned to the WSL, and it just finished fourth. It's eyeing up a deal this summer that would more than double its transfer record.

Liverpool Women have also now been moved to Melwood, Liverpool's historic training ground. That's an elite-level facility.

At Manchester United, all indications are that Ratcliffe is moving in the opposite direction. It's got to the point where the PFA is ready to seek conversations with the club hierarchy about the growing concerns (The Athletic).

The women's side face eviction from their usual training facilities (specifically constructed for their use) in order to make way for the men while work is done on their Carrington site. Temporary portacabins are being erected.

It may be that Ratcliffe cares deeply about women's football. But if nothing else, any slick operator would have realized that the optics of this move would be absolutely terrible.

Never botch a manager search

Manchester United's search for a new head coach made Liverpool's appointment of Arne Slot look even better. FSG identified the best available candidate, and once its decision had been made, things moved quickly and efficiently.

Meanwhile, Ratcliffe's "review" cast a long shadow over the FA Cup final triumph, with Erik ten Hag warning the club that he would simply go and win more trophies elsewhere if they decided to let him go. Weeks of tortuous deliberation ensued.

There were some fairly public rejections for Manchester United, as wildly different candidates were reportedly pursued. Coaches as diverse as Thomas Frank, Gareth Southgate, Thomas Tuchel and Kieran McKenna were all in the frame.

And at the end of it all, Man United seemingly concluded that nobody better than Ten Hag wanted to join. Frankly, who could blame prospective managers for balking at the chaos that has already been allowed to set in?

Where that leaves Ten Hag's mandate now, after a historically bad Premier League season, is anybody's guess. In theory, he has a sword dangling over his head, but Ratcliffe has demonstrated that he hasn't the faintest idea of how to find an upgrade.