Kyle Lafferty: Could enigmatic striker be surprise answer to NI's goalscoring problem?

The songs were halted and the pre-match party momentarily put on hold as word filtered through the crowded bars, cafes and streets of Lyon.

It was a few hours before kick-off in Northern Ireland's second Euro 2016 group game, against Ukraine, and manager Michael O'Neill had named his team.

Kyle Lafferty had been dropped.

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The country's talismanic striker. The man whose outstanding seven-goal salvo during qualification had played such a leading role in firing Northern Ireland to their first-ever European Championships and their first finals of a major tournament in 30 years.

Lafferty was one of five players dropped by O'Neill from the team that had fallen so flat in their opening defeat four days earlier against Poland. Making so many changes was an extremely bold - and ultimately successful - move in itself from the manager, but it was the omission of the then-Norwich City striker that was the talk of the Green and White Army.

Six years on and Lafferty, now 34 and having become one of his country's most enigmatic figures, was once again a talking point when the latest Northern Ireland squad was named by current manager Ian Baraclough for the upcoming Nations League quadruple-header.

Having been left out by Baraclough for his previous three international camps, an impressive showing for Kilmarnock since going back there in January - with his eight goals in 13 starts helping them win the Scottish Championship - catapulted the charismatic former Rangers man back into the limelight.

"Kyle seems to be one of those that is always the first question now for everyone," Baraclough acknowledged at his media briefing last week. "I suppose it was big news that he was left out of the squad previously, but the door was never closed for Kyle."

Lafferty 'as good as anybody'

A major reason for Lafferty's absence from those recent squads - and the fact that he has not played since last September - is the that he has gone 27 matches for Northern Ireland without scoring a goal.

In many ways it would perhaps seem absurd to suggest that a player with no goals in his last 18 hours and 47 minutes of international action could still be the most likely of the strikers in the squad to solve the team's long-standing and well documented problems in front of goal.

The curious case of the enigmatic Lafferty, however, means that there could be an argument for supporters wanting a chance to fall to the Fermanagh man rather than anyone else.

Memories of those goals in 2014 and 2015 - and their significance - linger on, while his successful stints in Scotland, albeit short-term and most recently in the second-tier, also offer hope for those willing to believe.

The fact that no other forward is staking a strong claim for the chief goalscorer role is another reason. With Josh Magennis missing, the combined goals total of the five other strikers selected by Baraclough is still nine short of Lafferty's tally of 20. Indeed, that 20 (in 85 appearances) contributes almost exactly one-third of the entire squad's goal output.

Statistics and the opinions of supporters are not what matter, of course. It's the manager that decides who plays, and Baraclough was emphatic in his praise of his striker's attributes.

"If we feel that a player deserves to come into the squad on merit then we will do that, and I think Kyle has shown enough at the back end of the season to earn his place," he remarked.

"Hopefully he can take that form into these four big games and be a big presence for us. He's a big striker with real pedigree. Hopefully he can get back to scoring goals at international level as he has been frustrated at not adding to the number of goals that he has got for Northern Ireland.

"Some of the finishes that he delivered for Kilmarnock towards the end of the season can happen at any level - one-touch finishes, side-foot finishes and headers. He has got everything and, when he can bring that game together and go on a run of goals, Kyle is as good as anybody."

Turbulent time for enigmatic figure after Euros qualifying high

What Lafferty, who made his international debut in 2006, did during that euphoric journey to France should never be underestimated. His seven goals won so many precious qualifying points and his energy, presence and technique made him the ideal focal point for a well-organised side that liked to hit opponents on the counter-attack.

What has happened since, however, has only served to accentuate the enigmatic nature of a man who has always been a popular team-mate and never shied away from the 'squad joker' tag.

He is second only to David Healy in the all-time Northern Ireland goalscoring charts and his stock could not have been higher going into those finals in France. Indeed, he had made global headlines on the morning of the Poland game when George Best Belfast City Airport was renamed Kyle Lafferty Belfast City Airport for the day. The irony of Lafferty's international career experiencing plenty of turbulence since will not be lost on many.

Recalled to the starting line-up by O'Neill for the Euros last-16 defeat by Wales, few could have predicted the downwards trajectory of his international career since that tournament. Put bluntly, he has only scored once for Northern Ireland since, and that came in a 4-0 World Cup qualifier win at home to Azerbaijan in November 2016.

He's had his moments, though, the most memorable perhaps being when he came off the bench in the Euro 2020 play-off final defeat by Slovakia and struck the outside of the post with an excellent low strike late in the game, with the scoreline still at 1-1. Playing as he was just days after his sister had passed away, Baraclough and his team-mates consoling him on the pitch after full-time was a hugely emotional scene.

Five months later, in March 2021, Baraclough handed Lafferty the captain's armband for a friendly against USA at Windsor Park. However, an early missed opportunity, in which he dragged his shot wide when through on goal, was a snapshot of a man who at that stage was looking to end a 23-game goal drought.

An almost ever-present in the international squad for over a decade, the Kesh native has missed out recently as Baraclough has looked to other striking options.

Meanwhile, his club career over the last six years has become even more nomadic, with unsuccessful spells at Norway's Sarpsborg 08, Reggina in Italy and Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus doing little to address the narrative that his career could be petering out quietly.

However, he keeps finding moves that spark him back into life, even if just on a short-term basis.

He recently signed a one-year contract to remain at Kilmarnock, where he is a popular figure among the fans. He now has a chance - possibly his last? - to remind Northern Ireland supporters why that omission at the Euros was such big news.