Chicago's Mistake?

Chad Barrett scored the most significant goal for the United States at any level in the last five years: Barrett’s outstanding finish from a Benny Feilhaber free kick gave the US a 1-0 victory over Lionel Messi and eventual Champion Argentina at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Barrett’s MLS career has been shaky, but at moments he’s shown the great form he had for the US at the youth national team level. Dropped from the Olympic team, and subjected to ridicule by longtime Chicago Fire fans Barrett was dumped in order to obtain the rights to American goal scoring hero Brian McBride.

Trading a 23 year old for a 36 year old in football is a risky proposition. Teams in Europe would not make this move: nor should teams in MLS.  The bottom line is this: for all his goal scoring heroics in England, Brian McBride is limited when playing the latinized style that has overtaken the Chicago Fire in recent years. McBride probably would have fared better with Peter Nowak, Lubos Kubik and Ante Razov but in those days McBride was playing his trade for Columbus and helping compliment Stern John, Jeff Cunningham and Brian West on MLS most exciting team.

Now McBride is doing little to contribute positively to the Fire heading into the playoffs while Barrett seems to have single handidly kept TFC from elimination. I want to hear from Fire fans. Was this move a mistake and what excatly is McBride going to provide Chicago going forward?