The incomparable Tony Kempster has summarised things pretty well for the conference and below here:
http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/playoff0708.htm

I might head along to a game Tuesday, although it's also the Reading beer festival on Saturday which may well rule out any of the games with second legs

What's the Wimbledon view on their chances btw?

Code:

Semi 5 --- Tue 29th Apr --- Leamington v Rushall Olympic Semi 6 --- Tue 29th Apr --- Stourbridge v Sutton Coldfield Town

Excellent - Leamington and Stourbridge are kept apart. It's payback time (er, if they both get through their semi final)

Mildly interesting to note that while the Conference main and Conference north both have three ex-league teams involved, there's none in the Conference south play-offs.

Anyway, Come On Sheffield!

We've lost meekly in playoff semis each of the last two seasons and our form at the moment is poor. I'm keeping saturday clear just in case but don't really expect to spend any of it watching football.

I would have popped along to the TeamBath game but I have a rehearsal on Tuesday night.

TeamBath will bottle it, they always do in big games

Come on, call them by their real name - Team Taxpayer

So what about Team Northumbria?

There's only one former League club in the Conference South (and I'm stretching the definition not far short of as far as possible by calling them that), and they blew it on Saturday, letting Braintree Town through instead. Hampton & Richmond, I think, will see off Eastbourne in that.

What has been going wrong at Wimbledon lately? Their form over the last couple of months has been really poor, and I fear for their chances against Hornchurch. I'll probably be travelling up for this one, by the way - it's not all-ticket is it? (I alway ask this)

The club thatmy son plays for and I coach at is TeamBath Arsenal and are nominally part of TeamBath.

I have one of the Ladies team coaches assisting me, they let the lads into the games free and they have been great in helping me in things like the Sports Relief day when they let the lads play an match at half-time.

Our chairman particularly gets pissed off with the Team Tax stuff. He supports both teams (a concept I don't understand) with his argument that the TeamBath players and students pay tax as well

We have Bath City's main shirt sponsor's son playing for us and sponsoring our kit as well as Bath City's and there is a lot more crossover between the two clubs than is publically acknowledged.

Personally however, from a football supporter's point of view, I can completely see the arguments against TeamBath and understand why they are seen as some sort of "Franchise-lite".

I go and see them occasionally but haven't even been impressed by their football. As a team that is supposed to have superior training and modern attitudes towards coaching, they play too much of the long ball game.

On the other hand, I was astonished last year, after a great season by their team, how much time was wasted by Bath City fans pouring viriol on TeamBath, going along to games and supporting the teams playing against TeamBath etc

I can't understand this in the same way that I can't understand why anyone indulges in anti-Jack singing when we are winning in a FA Cup semi-final.

In saying this, I ma happy to go and watch Bath City as well, as much to see Scott PArtridge and occasionally they have anice kit.

At the end of the day though, I don't support either team.

QUOTE:
Personally however, from a football supporter's point of view, I can completely see the arguments against TeamBath and understand why they are seen as some sort of "Franchise-lite".

Why is it again?

Is the 'Team Taxpayer' thing because they recieve funding as part of a University? Is every club who have failed to pay off the Inland Revenue in full when going through administration called the same?

What's wrong at Wimbledon is that we have a geriatric centre-back pairing. And a team full of mentally fragile bigheads who think they only have to turn up to win against crap teams (5 points from 24 against the four teams that went down, for christ's sake) and who shit themselves whenever they get a big crowd at home for an imnportant game. Oh, and a manager who despite having had the job full time since July still doesn't know what his preferred starting eleven is. And he's given to impulse signings too which means that in recent games we've had as many as 5 loan signings (usually squad players from teams a division or two above us) who generally lumber round the pitch not giving a shit while trying to look like they're serious about regaining fitness after their broken leg/hernia/fit of the vapours (delete as appropriate) earlierr in the season. Oh, and we've forgotten what that big, stringy oblong thing behind the opposition's number 1 is for.

Harry,

I sent a long and involved reply and it hasn't turned up so apologies in advance if there is any duplication.

The main complaints appear to be that TeamBath put out a league team that are subsidised by the tax payers because they have no supporters and wouldn't survive otherwise.

As far as I understand it, they have quite a lot of money coming in from other income streams e.g. the commercial department through TeamBath merhcandise (rather than University Of Bath)

Secondly, people take umbrage as far the players being paid to play and train full-time so having an advantage over other teams in the league while doing spurious "Sports Science" degrees and whatnot.

Obviously, this is an accusation that could be levelled at most college basketball/baseball/gridiron players in American universities and I really do not know the ins andouts of how many players end up with the degrees.

I do not that the guy that organised my FA coaching course through TeamBath is an ex-TeamBath player so some of them must be doing something. I also deal with a couple of other ex-TeamBath players for certain issues and current players help out with lads on the match-days that I have mentioned

As far as the full-time playing and training goes, it doesn't seem to be doing them much good as they do seem to play the long ball game.

TeamBath coaches are all supposed to be coaching our teams but, as far as I know, I am the only one with a full-time coach and she is ex-TeamBath Ladies. This, however, may be as much down to the other managers' "I know what I am doing" attitudes as anything with the players.

A lot of criticism came from TeamBath fielding Andy Tilson ex-QPR, Bristol Rovers etc and obviously not a student but he was signed as player/coach and is now full-time coach. His situation is similar to Brian Parkin who is also ex-Rovers and is a coach there. Make of that what you will.

THere has been some criticism for TeamBath or, at least, their players playing in university and BUSA games which has come form the University element. I don't know about this but I do know there is a seperate University Of Bath team.

The situation closest to Franchise is actually TeamBath Ladies who, until this season, were Bristol City Ladies but City cut ties with them and they were on the verge of dissolving but TeamBath took them over, folded their Ladies team and took Bristol City's position two leagues higher.

Again, make of that what you will but there would have been no Bristol City Ladies team if this hadn't happened.

As I say, from a supporters point of view, I can see the criticisms but from a parent and coach's point of view, I have had very good dealings with them and am impressed with the TeamBath approach to a lot of sports and a lot of kids, specifically, are doing a lot of sports through TeamBath.

AS far as Bath City are concerned, they get a good income from the groundshare, I assume, use of TEamBath's excellent training facilities and, when they are in the same league, a pretty much guaranteed six points every season as well

I might be going to Burton v Cambridge U on Friday night, but I suspect I'll only be able to get a ticket in the Burton end on my own so not sure I'll bother.

I may instead save up my brownie points and hopefully go the final should Cambridge get there (such a policy would inevitably result in a Burton win).

Aren't you in a bit of a win-win with that tie?