The Hammers faithful have long been blowing bubbles, and as part of their old anthem famously extols: "Just like my dreams they fade and die. Fortunes always hiding, I've looked everywhere."
Rarely can a football team have had such an apt song associated with them because the East Londoners are the English top-flight's perennial underachievers.
Even West Ham's former chairman, the late David Gold, admitted that his stated aim of being Champions League regulars within seven years of his takeover of the club was perhaps a little bullish in hindsight.
"What we should’ve said was that in seven years we were hoping to be knocking on the door instead of saying we will be in the Champions League places," he noted back in 2019.
"I’ve certainly learnt a lot from the things that we’ve said, but you’ve got to understand we said things like that with the very best of intentions, based on the knowledge that we had at the time that we could make it happen."
West Ham's move to the London Stadium hasn't brought Champions League success
Those words came three years after the contentious move from the Boleyn Ground, and now here we are, nine years post-Upton Park, and the Irons are in 15th position in the Premier League table and could conceivably finish the 2024/25 campaign as low as fourth from bottom if results go against them.
It's all very well having lofty ambitions, but for West Ham to get to the very top, it requires a change of mindset from the boardroom down.
From East London to the Essex coast, West Ham can draw upon a huge area for their fanbase, and by filling the London Stadium every week, it's a sure sign that they could be a big club if the hierarchy matched supporter ambitions.
Though the transfer record at the club has been broken on a number of occasions in the past 15 years, most notably for Sebastien Haller's €50m move from Eintracht Frankfurt, there is a question mark over the club's due diligence in such transfers.
Haller, ultimately, didn't work out, ditto the €38.6m Gianluca Scamacca and €38m signing, Felipe Anderson. In today's market, too, €50m doesn't buy you a great deal.
Transfer successes have been few and far between for the Hammers
Of course, there have been success stories, none more so than the capture of Jarrod Bowen, but they've been few and far between, and that's simply not good enough for a team with aspirations of mixing it regularly amongst Europe's elite.
Not always looking at the more cost-effective options in terms of playing staff wouldn't be the worst place to start from, either.
Since moving to the London Stadium in August 2016, the Hammers have had five managers oversee the first team in Slaven Bilic, Manuel Pellegrini, David Moyes, Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter.
Collectively, they've managed for 377 games and whilst 150 wins in that time might not seem a bad statistic, the team has also lost 148 times.
West Ham are two defeats away from most in Premier League history
Despite scoring 1,379 goals in the Premier League, the 10th most of any club since the English top-flight was rebranded, they are just two losses away from having the most defeats in Premier League history.
Their 458 reverses are only surpassed by Everton's 460, and the way that the first team have been performing under Graham Potter, it won't be long before the East Londoners sit atop that particular tree.
Two steps forward, one back, as it were. The same old story.
Potter hasn't really got his feet under the table as yet, though his four wins from 17 games in charge are a little underwhelming to say the least.
In fact, when you look at the Englishman's record at both Brighton and Chelsea, he's never really done that well, but gets the plaudits because of a more continental style of play.
Certainly, the Hammers supporters know their football and have always wanted to be entertained. To that end, Potter may end up being the perfect fit. However, results can't come secondary to performance if the club want to populate the upper echelons of the league regularly.
Conference League win masked David Moyes' failings
David Moyes' 260 games in charge are by far the most of the recent group of managers, but his less technical and more robust way of playing was never going to win him many admirers.
He did land West Ham their first major trophy in over 40 years mind, got them into Europe in three successive seasons and had a win rate of 42.3% - better than any of his contemporaries - but with the greatest of respect to the Scot, a win rate of well below 50% sums things up at the club quite nicely.
Every manager since the move across East London bar Moyes has seen their West Ham team concede more than they've scored, and let's be honest, how is it that the same old problems resurface season after season despite the occasional change of manager?
There are lessons which should've been learned years ago, but a perceived reticence to change appears to be the biggest problem. Perhaps nothing will ever be any different unless those at the top decide to delve into their pockets a little deeper than before - or get out.
Time for West Ham's owners to sell up
Daniel Kretinsky, West Ham's major shareholder, is believed to be worth in the region of $9.6bn, whilst David Sullivan supposedly has financial reserves of about £1.2bn. Clearly, then, the club are not short of money.
Former Arsenal midfielder, Ray Parlour, is just one of many ex-pros to take a view on what West Ham are about, and his solution is for both Kretinsky and Sullivan to sell up if they're not going to put their money where their mouth is.
“I think they have got to sell the club," he said.
"I think if they sold the club to a big, big time player and they really invest in it, I think they could be a big, big club. Top four. You have got to get the right people in place (in terms of potential new buyers).
“If they (Kretinsky and Sullivan) sold the club, I think they could go really strength to strength. I promise you now. Because they have got the support.”
West Ham fans will continue to back their team, of course, and delight in telling everyone who listens how "massive" they are, but that won't be the case for much longer if the status quo doesn't change.
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