He shares the view of many commentators that the penalties were unjustified and harsh."For some time he has been subjected to the vile taunts that he takes drugs. His unplanned reaction to those taunts during the Everton game led him to mock the fans who were taunting him."The disciplinary committee appears to have ignored this provocation in imposing a four-match ban and the largest fine ever handed to a player. Robbie accepts that his behaviour was embarrassing and regrettable. He has apologised to those offended by his behaviour and hopes that in the future, people have no reason to judge him other than for his footballing abilities."He is persuaded that it is in the best interests of the game and Liverpool FC that these incidents should be left in the past and he looks forward to playing again after the completion of his ban. Robbie thanks all those who have been supportive during this difficult time and in particular Liverpool FC, his team-mates and his friends."Fowler was given a two-match ban for his altercation with the Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux, and a four-match ban for pretending to snort cocaine while celebrating a goal against Everton.Manchester United fans have hit back at claims that they are the worst behaved supporters in the country.Aston Villa's head of security, John Hood, made the accusations after some United supporters invaded the pitch at the end of Wednesday's FA Cup semi-final replay victory over Arsenal.

The Football Association is investigating the behaviour of the United fans, but Andy Walsh, the chairman of the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association said Hood has overreacted."Mr Hood is well over the top in his comments," Walsh said yesterday. "Emotionally it was a very highly-charged game and, whilst recognising that Mr Hood has his job to do, he's also got to understand that after one of the greatest FA Cup semi-final games ever, emotions run high."Dennis Wise said yesterday that he did not bite the Real Mallorca defender, Marcelino. The Chelsea captain, who was informed by Uefa, European football's ruling body, that a disciplinary hearing will be held on Monday, was seen on television apparently trying to bite the arm of the centre- back during the Cup-Winners' Cup semi-final first-leg game.If found guilty, Wise faces a ban from the return leg on Thursday as well as the final, if Chelsea reach it However, Wise said: "I didn't bite him. The TV showed me gesturing to bite him and obviously everyone has jumped on the bandwagon.". EVEN TOWARDS the end of his career, at Sunderland, George Burley looked like the boy eternal. It was hard to imagine his lissom frame, which seemed wholly unsuitable for the rigours of the professional game - much less so for a defender - ever suffering the ravages of time. "Even now, he still looks 22," said his team-mate from those days, Alan Brazil.

"Me? I look more like 52, yet George is three years older!" Bobby Robson, his manager at the time, used to call him Peter Pan, but the game did catch up with Burley, long before time did, in 1981, when, in an FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury, he suffered cruciate ligament and cartilage injuries which ought to have finished him as a player. It was certainly the end of his season and he missed the final rounds of the Uefa Cup when that unforgettable Ipswich team of Muhren, Thijssen and the rest finally did themselves justice. Injuries like that, even at the age of 24, tend to make a player take stock of his life and Brazil believes the experience changed Burley, even though he made a complete recovery and ended up playing 500 games for the club "It was a shock to him," he said "He realised his career could have been over. He changed his lifestyle as a result of it and was suddenly into looking after his body and prolonging his career. He was always one of the lads who, when we had a great success, would go out with the rest of us and celebrate, but he became slightly distant after that."Brazil admits to having had his fall-outs since with his fellow Scot, who is now close to realising his dream of steering the club he played for 14 years from the age of 15 back towards the top flight.

The relationship between former team-mates is never easy when one moves into the media business, as Brazil has done, and becomes a pundit. But the Sky commentator is prepared to give credit where its due."When I see George I'll shake his hand and tell him what a fantastic job he's done," Brazil said. "No money to spend and forced to sell players and yet here we are on the verge of Premiership football."This is the season when Burley's Ipswich have to dispense with that "nearly man" tag after losing out two years running in the play-offs if the club is not to suffer a more serious break-up of its coveted playing staff. In each of those seasons Ipswich made an appalling start only to finish like an Olympic sprinter on speed or something stronger.In response to their go-ahead chairman David Sheepshanks' plea to "hit the ground running" this time, Ipswich promptly hit the ground firing blanks, going four games without scoring a goal, since when this impotency has been passed to the opposition in the form of a record 24 clean sheets.They enter the finishing straight with a critical match at Bolton today, while Bradford City, their only serious rivals for that second automatic promotion place behind Sunderland, have a Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield on their hands. The situation could not be more finely balanced: both teams are level on 80 points and, though Ipswich have a game in hand, Paul Jewell's side have scored 11 more goals."It's going to be tight, it could go down to the last day," said Burley, now a youthful 42-year-old. "We've got a difficult run-in, but we've shown tremendous consistency all season and with Kieron Dyer back soon we can stay in second place."Burley expects his precocious midfielder, who broke his fibula four weeks ago, to be back in two or three weeks' time to help restore Ipswich to the division where he spent most of his career.

Anyone who watched Ipswich during the late 1970s and early 80s tends to get a bit nostalgic when talking about the old days at Portman Road, but Burley is not the sort to get all dewy-eyed. "I loved every moment of it and I appreciated the standard of the players I played with, like Thijssen, Muhren, Wark, Beattie - we had 11 or 12 internationals But those days are finished. I get a great kick now out of producing young talent like Kieron Dyer and Richard Wright, giving them their debuts at 17 and seeing them progress through towards full international honours."Nor are they the only ones whom the Premiership has its beady eye on. Others include a local centre-forward, James Scowcroft, and two of Burley's most prudent purchases, the striker David Johnson, a former team-mate of Ryan Giggs at Old Trafford, whom he bought from Bury, and the midfielder Matt Holland, once of West Ham. All of them want to be seen in the Premiership, but such is the club spirit engendered by Burley that all of them would prefer that it was in the blue and white of Ipswich."There's no doubt that at some point some of these youngsters will want to go for financial reasons," Burley said.