Kyle Lafferty
Kyle Joseph George Lafferty is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for side Johnstone Burgh.
Lafferty began his professional career with English side Burnley, where he made 89 appearances. 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. In 2012 Lafferty chose not to transfer over to the new company, moving to Switzerland's FC Sion. 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. 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.
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.
Club career
Burnley
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.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 returned to Burnley in February 2007.
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.
Rangers
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. On 17 December, Lafferty scored an 83rd-minute winner for Rangers against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the game ending 2–1. 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. Lafferty later raised a constructive dismissal claim against Rangers.
Sion
Lafferty signed a three-year contract with Swiss Super League club FC Sion on 30 June 2012, linking up with former Rangers player and Sion player-coach Gennaro Gattuso. He was unable to play in the league match against Grasshoppers on 15 July because the Scottish Football Association refused to provide clearance for the transfer, having received an objection from Rangers' owner Charles Green. On 20 July, Lafferty received provisional international clearance from FIFA which allowed him to play while arbitration over his move from Rangers continued. On 22 July 2012, Lafferty made his debut for Sion, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Servette. He scored his first goal a week later in a 3–0 win over Luzern.Palermo
On 26 June 2013, Lafferty joined Serie B club Palermo on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He said "Palermo tried to sign me in January but unfortunately we couldn't close the deal. Now I can't wait to get started. When I was younger I watched a lot of Italian football and I know there's a very passionate fanbase here at Palermo."He scored 11 goals in 34 matches to help the club ascend to Serie A as champions in his only season, and won the Fans Player of the Season award. However, club president Maurizio Zamparini called him an "out-of-control womaniser" and claimed that this lifestyle resulted in him being sold.
Norwich City
On 27 June 2014, Lafferty signed a three-year contract with Norwich City of the Football League Championship with an option for an extra year. The transfer fee was undisclosed and the transfer would be effective from 1 July. He said "Norwich is a team that wants to get promoted back to the Premier League at the first opportunity, so I'm excited to come here and start playing football for a team like this." He was given squad number 9.Lafferty made his debut for the team on 10 August, as they began the season with a 1–0 defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, replacing Steven Whittaker for the last 14 minutes of the game. Six days later he made his first start in his first game at Carrow Road, lasting 67 minutes of a 3–0 win over Watford before being replaced by Elliott Bennett. In 20 games18 of those in the leaguehe only scored once, in a 3–2 home win against Cardiff City on 17 January 2015.
On 2 February 2015, Lafferty was loaned to Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor for the remainder of the campaign. He scored two goals in 14 league games for the Turkish side.
Norwich had been promoted to the Premier League during Lafferty's absence. He scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season in a 3–0 League Cup victory against West Bromwich Albion, but found regular games hard to come by. In November 2015, Leeds United head coach Steve Evans revealed he had inquired about the availability of Lafferty on loan. However, Lafferty remained with Norwich until 24 March 2016, when he joined Championship club Birmingham City on loan until the end of the season.
He returned from international duty with a groin injury, but was fit to start Birmingham's match against Brighton & Hove Albion on 5 April. He opened the scoring after 16 minutes with a tap-in following a goalkeeping error, but Brighton went on to win 2–1. He made five more league appearances, without scoring, in what remained of the season.
In May 2017, it was announced that Lafferty would be released when his contract expired.
Hearts
On 28 June 2017, Lafferty joined Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership on a two-year deal. He made his debut on 18 July in the group stage of the Scottish League Cup, scoring the only goal away to Elgin City. Two days later, he added two more goals in a 3–0 win over East Fife at Tynecastle, and on 25 July he made it four goals in three games with one in a 2–1 loss at Peterhead; Hearts did not reach the knockout stage.In the league season, Lafferty scored 12 times as Hearts finished 6th; this made him the Premiership's fourth highest scorer. One of these was on 17 December 2017 in a 4–0 win over defending champions Celtic, ending their 69-match unbeaten run in domestic matches. Thirteen days later, he was sent off at the end of a goalless draw at Aberdeen for a challenge on Graeme Shinnie.