Heard some lads at the pub arguing about Kyle Lafferty last night. Everyone seemed confused whether he was still playing or retired. Figured I’d dig into it properly this morning.
Started with the obvious
Grabbed my laptop around 9 AM and just googled “Kyle Lafferty now”. Got flooded with garbage clickbait sites repeating 2021 transfer rumors. Realized I needed actual club sources.
Checked the Northern Ireland national team page first since he caps for them. Their squad list still showed him, but no club affiliation listed. Annoying but not surprising.
Tracking recent clubs
Remembered he played in Scotland recently. Went directly to the Scottish Championship table. Scanned every squad list – nothing. Found a forum post mentioning he’d signed for Glentoran back home. Followed that lead.
Hopped over to Glentoran’s official site around 10:15 AM. Painfully slow loading, but finally found their squad section. Scrolled past all the young lads and boom – his mugshot right there under strikers. Contract signed February 2023.
Stats headache
Now the frustrating part – his goal numbers. Their match reports are split across multiple pages. Had to manually count:
- League goals: Went through 15 match summaries before coffee kicked in. Found his name in scorers’ lists four times total
- Cup goals: Three more across different competitions
- Total appearances: Twenty-three when counting subs
Cross-referenced with a Northern Ireland football stats aggregator (took three attempts to find one without paywalls). Numbers matched up mostly – seven goals total this season. Pretty dire return honestly.
Final reality check
Just to be thorough, searched transfer market databases around noon. All showed him at Glentoran with near identical stats. Also noticed he’s been booked six times – classic Lafferty that.
So settled in at 12:30 PM with this summary: 35-year-old Lafferty’s still kicking about at Glentoran in the NIFL Premiership, netted seven in 23 appearances this campaign. Took longer than expected but at least I won’t look daft at the pub tonight.