Jeff Probyn: Championship needs help but who supplies the cash?

I read with interest Dean Ryan's take on the Championship in last week's Rugby Paper and how he believes blame should be apportioned for the pious state of that league, financial and facility wise. Ryan was reacting to the news that Plymouth Albion faced administration if they couldn't come up with a quarter of a million pounds quickly.
Ryan's statement that the RFU have stood by and watched the Championship “wither and die on the vine” is easy to understand, particularly due to the substantial difference in funding levels between the Premiership and the Championship – but it is far too simplistic.
When the game went professional, none of the clubs could realistically afford to pay players, but those at the top of the game signed contracts in the knowledge that they would be able to force the RFU to effectively fund their wage bill with player release fees etc.
In those early days when everything was still very much up in the air, the RFU were reliant on a group of negotiators, some of whom had links to clubs, to find an equitable solution with the clubs.
Unfortunately for the RFU, the deal done was heavily weighted in favour of the clubs, and included a clause that stated that England players could be selected only from Premiership clubs and that there was to be no level of rugby between the Premiership and the international team.
That clause has enabled the clubs in the Premiership to steadily increase the funding provided by the RFU while curtailing other player development avenues, such as county or regional rugby.
Those increased payments have seen the funding for all but the elite clubs and national teams dwindle to almost nothing.
The majority of grassroots funding comes in the guise of assistance, with coaching courses, travel costs, regional development officers and loans for facility improvement, some of which is provided by sponsors like NatWest and QBE but with little or no direct funding going to clubs at levels below the Championship.
Dean, having spent just six months in that league, appears to think he has grasped the mentality of all the clubs and their hopes and aspirations.
His comment that all the Championship clubs have managed themselves to the lowest common denominator is a bit of an insult to clubs like Bristol, Nottingham, Yorkshire (Leeds) and London Scottish, let alone the many other clubs that have invested heavily in their facilities, players and coaches.
Ryan's idea that the Championship should be run by PRL may seem to be a good idea given that there are now many links between a number of the Premiership clubs and Championship clubs with dual player registration, but it could create a conflict of interest. Those links create a problem for the Championship by blurring the lines of identity for the clubs in that league. Are they ‘stand-alone' clubs or just Premiership second teams by another name?
What would happen if a team in the Championship gained promotion because they had six or seven players on dual contracts from the likes of Leicester or Northampton?  Would the Premiership club demand their players back to perhaps sign them to another Championship club or would the promoted club retain the players and have to pay compensation to their contract cousins?
If the players were taken back, how would the newly-promoted club fill the void left in their squad and their finances and build a team capable of surviving in the Premiership within just the few months between seasons?
Then we come to the real elephant in the room – where will any extra funding money come from?
The idea that the RFU are awash with money and can magic up the millions necessary to fund the Championship is ludicrous.
Perhaps the rise in TV viewing figures since BT took over to a season total of nearly eight million may help the Premiership to persuade BT to invest a bit more in the product and show Championship games as well, for a suitable extra fee.
Dean's comment, “What's happening at Plymouth is a pretty sad reflection on professional rugby…we've been doing it for a long time and if we can't get two leagues that are financially moving in the right direction, as they have in France, it's pretty poor” hits the nail right on the head but does it forget a couple of vital points?
The Top 14 doesn't rely on the FFR to fund it, in fact the FFR are relatively poor and are currently in the process of building their own stadium (they currently hire the Stade de France) to try and rectify their financial situation.
French rugby clubs don't have to build, maintain or finance their stadiums as they are funded by their local municipalities and French rugby is regional in that it is mainly played in the southern half of France where it is virtually a religion.
Crowds are substantially greater than here and, by having an established regular fan base (even in the lower leagues), it has enabled the Top14 to negotiate a massive £60 million a year TV deal, just for their league games.
The French make sure there is some financial security at Top 14 clubs as all promotions are contingent on passing a post-season financial audit required for all clubs.
And if a club above the bottom two places fail the audit,  they may be relegated in the place of a club that would have otherwise gone down. Perhaps if some of these financial checks were introduced to our professional leagues, the grey spectre of bankruptcy may be eased on this side of the Channel.