Things have been a little quiet on the club front over the past couple of weeks but FIFA have come to the media’s rescue again, providing yet more critical headlines.

FIFA’s World Cup corruption inquiry seems to have posed more questions than it has answered, particularly for chief investigator Michael Garcia, who feels he has been misrepresented in his report on the bidding for the next two finals, in Russia and Qatar.

Former Football Association chairman David Bernstein suggested this week that if the countries in UEFA could get their collective act together, then they could even threaten to boycott the next World Cup unless FIFA put their house in order.

There have been so many allegations directed at football’s world governing body - and they have gone on for so long - that it’s hard to believe there is not something fundamentally wrong with the way they operate.

The sheer volume of complaints, criticisms and allegations ultimately makes you wonder if FIFA have enough credibility any more - how good are they at running this great game of ours? From what we read and see, FIFA seem to have great trouble finding the right people to run their organisation.

Many FIFA committee members come from places where football is not a huge attraction while no one seems able or willing to challenge the man at the top, Sepp Blatter, which seems strange.

I honestly don’t know where they go from here and if the man who was instrumental in compiling the report says he was misrepresented, the perception is perhaps they have something to hide.

The 2022 World Cup, due to be in Qatar, continues to be surrounded by controversy and confusion.

I have been to Qatar a few times, doing work for satellite TV network Al Jazeera, so I have seen the potential problems of holding the tournament there for myself.

If you want a seriously good competition, then the temperatures in the stadia there have to be controlled - but what happens in training?

There could be sessions in temperatures of well over 40C, which would make things almost impossible for the players.

I also wonder how the country will cope with the influx of so many supporters from all over the world.

It might be that many fans would fly in and out of Dubai and travel to Qatar to watch the games.

You also have a nation which has strictly enforced laws, especially regarding religion and alcohol.

In the past supporters have congregated in the fan parks, having a few beers, watching games and enjoying themselves. In Qatar, in that sort of severe heat, people could end up in serious trouble.

On a summer’s day, it is difficult to be anywhere other than standing in the shade or in a swimming pool.

When the sun sets, the temperature drops down to the mid-30s.

If, as seems likely, the World Cup goes ahead in Qatar, everyone has to accept that it must be played in the winter and start seriously planning for it now.

It will be logistically difficult for us to replan our domestic season but if the tournament is destined for Qatar - and the construction of the stadia is well under way - then we will have to cope with it and take the players’ welfare into consideration, too.

As for Bernstein’s boycott suggestion, I don’t honestly see that happening. If there is something in life you don’t like and want to change, you have to honestly assess your capabilities of making a change.

Fast learner Aaron Cresswell’s on the up

I’m sure Aaron Cresswell, a Liverpool fan as a youngster, will be keen to help the team to a good result at Everton tomorrow. The key performance indicators were all looking good when we signed him from Ipswich this summer. Aaron had played practically every game at Tranmere before Paul Jewell took him to Ipswich, where he played 40 games-plus over the three seasons he was there. Our scouts and staff who watched him were all in agreement in urging us to go and get him and Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy said he was ready to take the next step. Aaron has done just that, he still has some way to go but he’s a quick learner.

I’ll rotate my squad if it suits me and I don’t care what the critics have to say

The couple of days before a Saturday game following an international break invariably has an effect on every Premier League managers’ blood pressure - and this week has certainly been no exception for me.

It’s bad enough having a player report back with a problem, as in the case of Stewart Downing following his England call-up against Slovenia.

The case of Diafra Sakho, who was away with Senegal, is even more galling, though, since he woke up one morning with a back spasm and couldn’t get out of bed.

Coming back on a long flight certainly didn’t help things and now we have little time to give him the treatment he needs to relieve the pain sufficiently for him to feature at Everton tomorrow.

Diafra is eager to play because he was massively disappointed he didn’t convert one of the chances he had against Aston Villa in our previous game [the match ended 0-0] but if he doesn’t make it, then whoever comes in will have to try to keep us at the level we’ve shown this season.

Andy Carroll played a full 90 minutes in a friendly against Fulham during the international break and his ankle felt fine — there’s no problem with the injury any more which is good news.

He still needs more game time, though, and he will have to get that at the highest level, not as happens in pre-season when you can feel your way in.

That heightens the risk of picking up another new injury but you have to try to manage things as best you can, either by saying that’s enough, if he has started, or the time is right for you to go on and do something, if he is on the substitutes’ bench.

Andy says he is ready for 90 minutes, as I would expect him to, but it’s not really his decision. I have to make the judgment and think long term because we can’t suffer like we’ve been doing for the last two seasons, when we’ve had significant injuries mid-season and had a poor spell of results.

My job is to make sure that doesn’t happen again and it won’t if we manage to keep the players fit.

The schedule becomes increasingly demanding as we move towards Christmas and it makes sense to utilise the whole squad. If we do that, though, we have to be prepared to take the criticism that comes our way, sometimes from ex-players who have no knowledge of the circumstances.

Yes, you can play the same team four times in eight days but either they’ll be dead on their feet at the end or you will pick up half a dozen injuries.

The opportunity will exist for other players to step in, to make a statement. They need to tell themselves: “I haven’t played as much but I do so well that the manager isn’t going to be able to drop me.”

Sometimes, though, players who haven’t been in the team can’t grasp that chance because it is difficult when you are not playing regularly. You have to be prepared mentally, otherwise you’ll let yourselves down tactically and physically.

That’s the challenge. This is a better squad, a stronger squad but players will get their opportunity. They then have to take it like Sakho and Enner Valencia or Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell, who have displaced two trusted full-backs in Guy Demel and Joey O’Brien.