Sunderland A.F.C.’s misery grew deeper this weekend as they slid to a jaw-dropping 8-0 defeat against Southampton F.C. in the Barclay’s Premier League on Saturday. 

Here’s how a team knows when their season is entering desperation mode: when defenders start scoring own goals described across the Internet as “incredible,” “spectacular,” “world-class” and “one of the best in history.” 

Sunderland defender Santiago Vergini somehow managed to volley into his own net from 18 yards out on Saturday before he and the rest of the defensive line let in seven more goals, culminating in one of the most lopsided results in recent Premier League history.

Sunderland currently sits in 17th place in the Premier League table with eight points, just above the relegation zone. 

It’s early yet, but the signs are not good for The Black Cats.

For the American favorite, forward Jozy Altidore, the weekend was perhaps even more embarrassing than his Sunderland teammates’. The striker failed to make even the bench, continuing a trend this season of spending his Saturdays and Sundays watching football from his couch. 

Altidore has made only four substitute appearances in league matches, with his only start this season coming during a Capitol One Cup match.

Altidore appears to be the third striker in Sunderland’s depth chart, behind forwards Steven Fletcher and Connor Wickham—and the rumors are starting to fly in about a potential departure from Northwest England during the January transfer window.

Perhaps the most frustrating part about Altidore’s inability to perform at the highest level in Europe is that he has been a strong performer for the United States Men’s National Team recently. 

He scored the only goal in last week’s match against Honduras, and many have speculated that had he not been injured in the U.S.’s first match at the World Cup, the team’s fortunes would have been very different last summer.

But for now, Altidore remains, in the words of Sports Illustrated writer Jonathan Wilson, a joke among the English fans whom he has tried to desperately to impress. 

“When [Altidore] scored against Stoke [City F.C.], Twitter was alive with sightings of eclipses, owls killing falcons, horses turning and eating themselves and other portends of the apocalypse,” Wilson wrote. “When he comes off the bench, the chant goes up, ‘Jozy scores, we’re on the pitch,’ as fans warn stewards that, should the unthinkable happen, they wouldn't be able to contain themselves.”

A transfer away from Sunderland seems imminent at this point, and while such a move would probably be beneficial for this stage of Altidore’s career, it would be another blow to the egos of American soccer fans. 

A probable Altidore transfer would be just the latest of a series of American failures in the league that many Americans watch on TV every weekend, highlighted by Birmingham City F.C. midfielder Brek Shea.

Shea, once seen as the next big American player, joined Premer League side Stoke in 2013 and was an immediate disappointment, quickly loaned out to League One sides Barnsley F.C. and Birmingham City in the first two years of his four-year contract

While Major League Soccer remains a second-tier league in terms of quality and the country’s soccer exports to Europe struggle to find success at the highest levels, it is hard to find anything to feel good about these days as an American fan of the beautiful game.