I first stood on the terraces at Upton Park in 1962 for a reserve match. In all that time, apart from a very brief period in the eighties they have never looked like a threat to the established order. Every club has it's unique culture that rarely deviates, West Ham's is one of promise followed by disaster.
There is no continuity at the club, even with the kit. Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U, Spurs, Villa etc etc all play in kits that a fan from sixty years ago would instantly recognise. Our sixties /seventies shirt was the iconic Hammers outfit, known worldwide For the last however many decades we seem to have a different form of hideous design foisted on us every year. Claret shorts? Feck off!!