Sunderland RCA are very pleased to announce the signing of Chris Armstrong. Martin Swales has jumped at the chance to bring in the vastly experienced ex-professional footballer at Reading, Sheffield United, Oldham and Bury.
He started his career at Bury, playing 33 games and scoring 1 goal before being transferred to Oldham Athletic where he played a further 75 games, he was signed by Sheffield United and made his debut in the first game of the 2003–04 season.
Chris then suffered a serious injury which limited him to just 13 games in his first season with the Blades and ruled him out for the whole of 2004–05. After a brief spell at Blackpool to improve his match fitness earlier in the season, he was a regular starter over the next two seasons before a suffering a number of injuries which kept him sidelined
Chris then moved to Reading and made his debut for the Royals in the 4–2 home win over Crystal Palace on 30 August 2008. Since then, he has become a first team regular and scored his first league goal for Reading against Watford on 9 January 2009. He was voted Player of the Season for the 2008/09 season with 80% of the votes.
Chris announced his retirement from the professional game on 8 March 2011 and revealed that he had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in December 2009.
Currently, Chris is looking to get back into football as a coach but is willing to pull on his boots to help SRCA in any way he can.