Despite having a huge following that stretches out from East London and deep into Essex, the Hammers faithful have rarely had a team that could be considered world-class.
West Ham's way of doing business hasn't changed
Karren Brady famously once said that once the club moved from Upton Park, they would have a world-class squad in a world-class stadium, but neither has come to pass.
The reality is that's how it's always been for the Irons, too.
Their big stars are routinely snapped up by clubs with more financial muscle, whilst West Ham continues to seem to make do and mend a lot of the time.
Sure, they've had some big names in their squads in the past, but invariably they're either coming towards the end of their careers, or have become injury-prone, and in such cases, the Hammers board sense the chance of a bargain, only to realise that you get what you pay for.
With Daniel Kretinsky currently guiding the club in the next phase of its development, one may have thought that the dark days of the reign of David Sullivan and his penny-pinching antics would be over.
Vardy chase continuing a poor transfer window so far
Kretinsky is apparently worth an estimated £8.1bn, but so far in a transfer window that has already seen Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville depart for approx £150m, let's not forget, the Hammers have only brought in Keiber Lamadrid and Manor Solomon for a combined fee in the region of £5-6m.
In keeping with their usual way of working, it's been extensively reported that the club are now chasing Jamie Vardy, and whilst no one can doubt his goalscoring prowess across his career, he is now 39 years of age.
If the Hammers board are indeed serious about having a world-class squad available to them, then surely hiring a striker whose best days were a decade or so ago sends the completely wrong message to those fans who follow the club week-in and week-out.
From Vardy's own point of view, he'd surely jump at the chance of a return to England after plying his trade in Italy with Cremonese, where he scored seven goals and provided two assists in his 29 games during the 2025/26 season.
Hammers don't need former Leicester ace
He's unlikely to be the first choice, however, with Taty Castellanos the preferred option in the centre.
Then Nuno Espirito Santo has to consider what to do with Pablo, who still hasn't scored a goal for the club since moving to East London in January, and Niclas Fullkrug, who has returned from a loan with AC Milan, and apparently is still to be handed a squad number with the Championship season just a few days away.
Vardy's seven goals from a total of 32 that Cremonese managed collectively still weren't enough to save the club from the drop into Serie B.
Despite his advancing years, he held joint-top spot in the squad for fast breaks during the season (eight), and if West Ham were to follow up any initial interest, it may be that Vardy's short, sharp bursts and eye for goal are what Nuno relies upon as part of the squad's attacking output.
Poor figures
His shot accuracy of 63.64% was only just shy of Dennis Johnsen's 66.67%, whilst Vardy's shot conversion was the best in the Cremonese squad (23.33%).
As for the other facets of his game, however, passing is clearly not his forte, with a total of 303 attempted being one of the lowest, and a completion rate of just 62.38% being the second-worst showing.
When you consider that Emi Audero's 61.79% came as a result of 1,293 total passes, though, it could be contended that Vardy was actually bottom of the pile.
Just 87 one-on-one duels won from 214 attempted meant a lowly 40.65% success rate, and just 12 tackles attempted across the entire 25/26 campaign is a striking underachievement.
The fact that West Ham are even considering that Vardy could therefore be the answer to their prayers says much about how out of touch the board remains.
This proud, working-class club are still looking to do business in the bargain basement, and if they were able to get back into the Premier League at the first attempt, then clearly things need to change if they want to stay there.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
