Glaring Sinclair Armstrong issue at Bristol City must be fixed after QPR switch: View | OneFootball

The Robins striker is struggling to find the back of the net on a regular basis since his move from Loftus Road

Bristol City boss Liam Manning has come under fire in the early part of the season, although his cause hasn’t been helped by his side’s issues going forward.

The Robins have recorded just two wins from their nine Championship matches so far this season, with victories against Millwall and Oxford United just about keeping the former MK Dons boss in a job as we head into the international break.

But while recent results have seen them tighten up at the back, the goals have dried up at the other end of the pitch, with four goals in their last six league matches pointing towards the crux of the issue at Ashton Gate right now.

While there can be a handful of players to point at in terms of profligacy, none stand out more than Sinclair Armstrong, with the recent recruit from Queens Park Rangers seemingly costing his side dearly of late.

Sinclair Armstrong woes in front of goal could cost Liam Manning

While Armstrong has netted twice in his nine appearances for City this season, the underlying numbers show that he could well have added even more to his tally at this stage of the season.

With FotMob measuring that he has already missed six big chances this season, there is every likelihood that the Robins could be sat with more points to their name had he tucked just one more of his efforts away.

In many ways, it is a continuation of what we saw while he was at Loftus Road, with his lung-busting runs constantly bamboozling defenders, only for the end product to be lacking.

But after forking out a reported £2.5 million fee for the forward over the summer, City fans would have been expected more from their recent recruit, with his efforts in front of goal leaving much to be desired of late.

Hitting the post when well-placed to score against Swansea City last month epitomised his latest performances, while a tame strike when one-on-one with Lawrence Vigoroux will have done nothing for his reputation.

For all his power and pace, that clinical nature is still lacking, with an underperformance of 0.7 in terms of xG underlining his lack of goalscoring instinct so far.

While his equaliser against Manning's old side Oxford United last month may have kept his boss in a job a bit longer, if that sort of form continues results will be tough to come by for the Robins' manager.

How Sinclair Armstrong compares with other Championship strikers

Having missed six big chances per FotMob already this season, Armstrong is among the wall of shame when it comes to passing up opportunities to score in 2024/25.

Top of the list sits Norwich City’s Josh Sargent with ten missed chances, although the USA international still has four goals to his name, which proves just how potent the Canaries have been going forward this season.

Elijah Adebayo sits next on the list, with the Luton Town striker passing up nine great glimpses of goal, with the Hatters man yet to get himself on the scoresheet upon his side’s return to the second tier.

Josh Maja [pictured] of West Brom and Vakoun Bayo of Watford are the only two other players who find themselves above Armstrong for the profligacy metric at this moment in time, with the pair both spurning seven chances apiece.

With Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti the next highest City players with two each to their names, it shows how much the Robins’ attack is relying on Armstrong at this moment in time, and if he is unable to make the most of the opportunities coming his way, it could be a long, hard season at Ashton Gate.