Jozy Altidore made his second straight start for Sunderland on Saturday against West Ham United, and that's no small feat for the 25-year-old forward, who has achieved what U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann stated as the No. 1 goal for Altidore and his fellow Americans in Europe: playing first-team football with your club.

But with any good that comes to Altidore in England, something bad is sure to follow. Horrible, unfortunate things like this:

This latest miss and latest goalless game in the Black Cats' 1-1 draw with the Hammers prolonged Altidore's scoring drought to 28 straight Premier League appearances. His last goal for Sunderland came just over a year ago, but manager Gus Poyet surprisingly stated newfound confidence in Altidore, promoting him from the bench "because we need him."

"He's our player and he needs to do something special for us," Poyet added.

What Poyet needs is fresh bodies to employ during the hectic December holiday schedule. At the very least, Altidore can tick that box.