The Swansea City Chairman has long since admitted that he is one of the more cautious Chairmen when it comes to spending but well documented problems at clubs in all divisions mean that several are already on the brink of going out of business.
“The financial state of so many clubs has been highlighted in recent months and to me, unless something is done, it’s only going to get worse,” Jenkins told the Evening Post .
“The transfer window being open just highlights the problems and I hope our supporters can see that.
“Clubs at the top of the Championship are looking for promotion and clubs at the bottom of the Premier League are trying to stave off relegation.
“Managers are fighting for their jobs, and they all think that spending money in January is the answer.
“That just gives you an ever increasing circle of people gambling money, building up debts and hoping someone will take them on in the future.
“In that situation, it’s only a matter of time before one of our football clubs disappears.”
Jenkins believes clubs must work together to stop wages and transfer fees getting any larger than they already are.
“We need to run football a bit more sensibly,” he added.
“We all need to make realistic statements and to control our money.
“There are a few of us trying to do that, but the more others gamble, the more pressure it puts on the clubs like us who are trying to work within their means.
“What others do pushes up wages for all players, hence perhaps we have one or two players right now who haven’t signed new contracts.
“Clubs should only be able to spend within a season their income for that season.
“Transfer payments should not be spread over three or four years — clubs should have to have the money in their pocket to sign a player.
“What’s happening at Portsmouth is an example of that.
“Clubs who pay for players with income from future seasons, or by building up debt, are actually gaining an unfair advantage, and the Premier League and Football League need to sort that out.
“If club owners want to use their money to bring in players that’s fine, but borrowing money to try to sustain success in football is something that should have been clamped down on long ago.
“Clubs could run things more tightly — we could try to keep to some kind of structure that everybody could follow which would stop people from borrowing and spending money they haven’t got,” Jenkins continued.
“Clubs spending that sort of money only raise expectations for their supporters, but when things don’t work out it’s the supporters who end up suffering.”
