McBride played well for the club, he sat out several games after having a blood clot surgically removed from his arm, which consisted of having a rib removed. The clot came as a result of a hard collision McBride had suffered during his first game with Preston. As McBride's loan spell came to an end, Preston attempted to purchase his contract from MLS for $1.8 million. MLS rejected it, considering McBride to be worth twice that amount. Two years later, Premier League club Everton were beginning to slide down the table. David Moyes, by then with Everton, remembered McBride's success with Preston and sought the forward's services. During McBride's three months with the club, he did not disappoint Moyes, scoring four goals in eight games, including his first game with the club, a 4–3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. He made close friends during the short time with players such as Leon Osman (with whom he still plays soccer) and Richard Wright. Everton, unlike Preston, merely sought to extend McBride's loan period, but MLS rejected it, preferring a transfer over an extended loan for McBride. Fulham In January 2004, Premier League club Fulham bought McBride's rights from MLS for $1.5 million. He played 18 games during the last half of the 2003–04 season, scoring a total of five goals. His scoring pace remained steady through the next two seasons. In 2004–05, he played 31 league games and six cup games, scoring six league and three cup goals. In 2005–06, he played 38 league games and one cup game, scoring ten league goals and one cup goal. McBride's original contract with Fulham continued only through the 2005–06 season. However, on March 10, 2006, he signed a one-year extension which took him through the end of the 2006–07 season. On February 2, 2007, he signed yet another one-year extension, taking him through the 2007–2008 season. He has a reputation as a battler with a high work rate, a trait prized in English soccer. McBride was Fulham's top scorer for their 2006–07 Premier League campaign with twelve goals to his name. He was given Fulham's captaincy in August 2007. When scoring the opening goal in a home match against Middlesbrough on August 18, 2007, McBride dislocated his kneecap. He did not make his return to action until a friendly against Cardiff City in late January 2008, and resumed his Premier League duties as a