Kyle Lafferty

Kyle Joseph George Lafferty (born 16 September 1987) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for West of Scotland Football League First Division side Johnstone Burgh.

Lafferty began his professional career with English side Burnley, where he made 89 appearances.

In 2004, Lafferty signed a youth team apprenticeship with Championship club Burnley.

The following season saw him begin to make an impression upon the Burnley first team.

He made his debut during a 2–1 away league defeat to Crewe Alexandra on 6 August 2005, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Garreth O'Connor.

He made his first international appearance for Northern Ireland in 2006 and has more than 80 caps, representing the team at UEFA Euro 2016.

With 20 goals he is the team's second highest scorer of all time, behind former strike partner David Healy on 36.

In January 2006, Lafferty joined Darlington on loan.

He went on to make nine appearances and net three goals for the club, including a scoring debut against Notts County on 7 January.

He scored his first senior goal for Burnley against Luton Town, netting the equaliser for a 1–1 draw on 30 April 2006.

Lafferty played 89 times and scored 10 goals during his time at Burnley.

He returned to Burnley in January 2007.

He signed for Rangers in 2008 for £3.25 million and won three Scottish Premier League titles, the Scottish Cup once and the Scottish League Cup twice with the club.

On 16 June 2008, Burnley accepted a bid from Rangers of £3 million plus Alan Gow but talks with Gow over his move to Turf Moor broke down.

Lafferty moved to Rangers on 19 June after the transfer offer was readjusted to write Gow out of the deal.

He made his Rangers debut as an 89th-minute substitute during a UEFA Champions League qualifier on 5 August 2008 against FBK Kaunas.

His first goal came in his second appearance, in a Scottish Premier League match against Heart of Midlothian on 16 August 2008.

On 16 May 2009, during the penultimate league match of the 2008–09 season at home to Aberdeen, Lafferty was involved in an off-the-ball altercation with Aberdeen player Charlie Mulgrew which ended with Lafferty reacting as if he had been headbutted.

The referee, Stuart Dougal, sent Mulgrew off for violent conduct; however, television pictures showed little contact between the two players.

Rangers went on to win the match 2–1.

Upon reviewing the incident Rangers manager Walter Smith expressed his disappointment at Lafferty's conduct.

Two days later it was reported that Rangers had fined Lafferty for his reactions in relation to the incident.

The case was also referred to the Scottish Football Association's disciplinary committee, who rescinded Mulgrew's red card and gave Lafferty a two-match ban for simulation.

On 25 April 2010, Lafferty scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Hibernian at Easter Road, securing the league title for Rangers with three matches left to play.

On 22 August, Lafferty was sent off, along with opponent Kevin McBride, in a match at the same venue.

On 25 September, Lafferty scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 7–2 victory over Dunfermline Athletic in the League Cup.

Lafferty scored in Rangers' 4–0 win over Dundee United in April 2011, before missing an opportunity in the final Old Firm game of the 2010–11 season at Ibrox in a 0–0 draw.

Lafferty then went on to score in three consecutive games in the title run in against Motherwell, Hearts and Dundee United.

Lafferty then scored a hat-trick in the final SPL game of the season as Rangers beat Kilmarnock 5–1 and won their third consecutive league title.

On 18 September 2011, Lafferty scored his first Old Firm goal in a 4–2 win against Celtic.

In 2012 Lafferty chose not to transfer over to the new company, moving to Switzerland's FC Sion.

On 24 April 2012, Ally McCoist announced that Lafferty had been banned for two weeks following a training ground bust up.

In June 2012, Lafferty lodged an objection against his contract being transferred from Rangers to the new company set up by Charles Green.

PFA Scotland had previously commented that players were entitled to become free agents if they objected to the transfer.

He signed for Serie B club Palermo in 2013 and led them to promotion as champions in his only season before joining Norwich City.

He spent time on loan with Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor and back in England with Birmingham City.

On 17 December, Lafferty scored an 83rd-minute winner for Rangers against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the game ending 2–1.

After just over a year back in Scotland with Heart of Midlothian, Lafferty re-signed for Rangers in August 2018, and he has since had short spells with Sarpsborg 08, Sunderland, Reggina, Kilmarnock and Anorthosis Famagusta.

In January 2022, he returned to Kilmarnock, joining the club for the second time.

He would then return to his native Northern Ireland to play for Linfield for a short while, before dropping down to the Scottish seventh tier to play for Johnstone Burgh.