It is hard to argue that it has been a disappointing season for Blackburn Rovers.

Having started the campaign with hopes of at least a play-off place, and put themselves in a decent position to back that up by the end of January, a poor run of form since then has ended any hopes of the Ewood Park club breaking into the Championship's top six in emphatic style.

Despite that, there have still been some bright moments for Rovers this season, many of which have come courtesy of Adam Armstrong.

The former Newcastle man has enjoyed a hugely impressive campaign for Tony Mowbray's side, and in spite of their recent struggles, has already passed the 20-goal mark for the season in all competitions.

But just how does Armstrong compare to some of the others to have led the line for Blackburn in recent seasons?

Here, in order to get a better idea of that, we've taken a look at who we think are the ten best strikers to have played for Blackburn, since the turn of the century.

We start this list with Craig Bellamy, who joined Blackburn in the summer of 2005, securing his departure from Newcastle United on a permanent basis in the process.

The Welshman enjoyed an outstanding debut campaign at Ewood Park, scoring 17 goals in just 32 appearances in all competitions for the club, helping Rovers to a sixth place finish in the Premier League table, and the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Bellamy's prolific form saw him voted as the club's Player of the Season by the Rovers fanbase, but the fact that he was only with the club for a single season before moving to Liverpool does prevent him from claiming a place further up this list.

Another player who spent just a single season at Ewood Park, but still made a significant impression on Blackburn during that time, was Yakubu.

The Nigerian joined Rovers in the summer of 2011, and enjoyed some brilliant days at Ewood Park, his double in 4-3 win at home to Arsenal and four goals in one 4-2 win over Swansea being particular standouts, with the veteran striker eventually scoring 18 goals in 33 appearances in total across the course of that campaign.

That return was made even more impressive by the fact that Yakubu was able to reach that tally in a team that suffered relegation from the Premier League that season, which saw the striker complete a move to China in the summer of 2012.

There can be no denying that Armstrong's goals have proved so important to Blackburn in the past few years, starting with the nine he netted to help fire Rovers to League One promotion while on loan from Newcastle in the second half of the 2017/18 season.

Not surprisingly, Blackburn moved to turn that loan into a permanent move that summer, and after a slow first season in the Championship, Armstrong stepped up brilliantly in the absence of the injured Bradley Dack last season, finishing top of the club's scoring charts and claiming the player of the year award.

That is something he has backed up again this season, sitting well clear in the race for Blackburn's Golden Boot for 2020/21, and it is no surprise to see speculation over his future mounting as a result of that.

Blackburn broke their transfer record to sign Andy Cole from Manchester United in December 2001, with the hope his goals would be able to fire them to Premier League safety.

That is something the striker would certainly deliver, netting 13 goals in 20 appearances for Rovers between then and the rest of the season as the club finished tenth in the Premier League, with Cole also netting the winning goal for Rovers in their League Cup final win over Tottenham in February 2002.

The next two seasons saw Cole continue to be a threat in front of goal, hitting double figure in both 2002/03 and 2003/04, although he did leave in the summer of 2004 on something of a sour note following a falling out with Blackburn's then manager Graeme Souness.

Joining Blackburn on loan from Sunderland - where he had struggled for goals - in January 2016, an impressive second half of that season saw Rovers quickly move to make Graham's move permanent.

Despite the striker's best efforts, Rovers were still relegated from the Championship the following season, but their deal for Graham still paid off, with the striker playing a big role in their promotion from League One in the following campaign, and claiming the club's player of the year award during their first campaign back in the second-tier.

In total, Graham scored 57 goals and provided 21 assists in 191 appearances for Blackburn before his departure at the end of last season, which was met with an overwhelming sense of disappointment from a fanbase who had developed such an affection for the striker during his four-and-a-half years at Ewood Park.

Gestede may have spent less than two years in total at Blackburn, but he is another who earned a place in the hearts of many a Rovers fan while he was at Ewood Park.

Joining on loan from Cardiff in November 2013, Blackburn made the Benin international's move permanent the following January, and he would quickly go on to make a big impact for the Lancashire club, forming a formidable partnership with a certain Jordan Rhodes.

Having scored 13 times in his first season with the club, Gestede's one full campaign with Rovers saw him pass the 20-goal mark that season, with the celebrations regularly on show from Gestede helping make him a cult figure at Ewood Park, with the striker scoring 35 goals in just 73 Rovers games in total before joining Aston Villa in the summer of 2015.

With Santa Cruz joining Blackburn from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, the Paraguayan represented something of a coup for Rovers when he made the move to Ewood Park in the summer of 2007.

That is something that certainly paid off for the Lancashire club, with Santa Cruz enjoying an incredible debut campaign in Blackburn, scoring 23 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions for Rovers, not surprisingly winning the club's Player of the Year award at the end of a season where it seemed he could do no wrong.

Despite the fact he left Blackburn midway through the following season for Manchester City, with a subsequent loan spell at Ewood Park failing to bring about a single goal, that 2007/08 season was undoubtedly Santa Cruz at his best, enough to earn him a strong placing on this list.

Having joined Rovers from Crystal Palace in January 1999, Jansen was already a Blackburn player come the turn of the century, but the best was yet to come from the striker.

The 2000/01 season saw Jansen net a remarkable 23 goals as Rovers claimed promotion to the Premier League, with Jansen fittingly scoring the goal that sealed promotion with a 1-0 win at Preston in May 2001.

The subsequent season saw Jansen again lead the scoring charts for Blackburn to help them re-establish themselves in the Premier League - he also scored in the League Cup final win that campaign - and although those tragic events in Rome in the summer of 2002 meant he was never quite the same player again, Jansen still ended his Rovers career with an impressive 58 goals in 179 games for the club.

Another striker who enjoyed a simply outstanding debut campaign at Ewood Park after making the move to Blackburn, was Benni McCarthy.

Joining in the summer of 2006 from Portuguese big-hitters Porto - where he had won the Champions League two years earlier - McCarthy's first season saw him score an outstanding 24 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions, as Rovers reached the semi finals of the FA Cup and UEFA Cup round of 32 to alongside a tenth place finish in the Premier League.

Although the subsequent years were not quite as prolific, McCarthy remained a pretty reliable source of goals at Ewood Park, scoring a total of 52 times in 140 games before leaving Rovers for their then Premier League rivals West Ham in February 2010.

While he may not have actually played in the Premier League for Blackburn, Rhodes' record for Rovers still means he is a strong contender for top spot on this particular list.

Immediately after their relegation from the top-flight of English football in the summer of 2012, Blackburn equalled their transfer record to sign Rhodes for £8million, money which would most certainly prove to be well spent.

During each of his three full seasons at Ewood Park, Rhodes would pass the 20-goal mark for the club, with that instinct to arrive at the right time and apply the perfect finish making him an invaluable asset for the club, and while he could drift out of games when not making an impact in the penalty area, strikers are judged on goals - and with Rhodes' 85 comfortably the most of any Blackburn striker this century, it feels hard to argue against the Scot claiming top spot here.