But that doesn't mean that teams didn't steel themselves for a playoff dash with good additions from beyond. In fact, despite the absence of a headline-gobbling blockbuster, this was probably the most significant midseason transfer period yet.
Recent transfers from outside MLS debuted for no fewer than six teams over the weekend.
Chief among them was Brian McBride, who entered at halftime but couldn't rescue the night in the Fire's 1-0 loss to United at Toyota Park.
Injury-troubled defender Cory Gibbs finally got back into a competitive match after two hard-luck years at Charlton in south London. He debuted successfully over the weekend at Colorado.
Louis Crayton looked rock-solid in his first turn in D.C. United's goal. He kept a clean sheet, matching the number of shutouts that Zach Wells had in 17 starts, which would seem to ensure a permanent change in goal at RFK.
Dutch flanker Victor Sikora gave FC Dallas some push up the left side in his debut (which coincided with Jeff Cunningham's first minutes for Dallas after a trade from Toronto). Pat Noonan recorded his first action in the Columbus Crew yellow. Young striker Johann Smith, just back from a stint with Bolton Wanderers in England, got his initial run-about with Toronto.
Of course, other squads had already undergone an August evolution, thanks to fresh faces from foreign lands.
We've seen a trio of recent debutantes with the New York Red Bulls. And at San Jose, three recent additions have made the Earthquakes -- unbeaten in five games, which is huge stuff for an expansion outfit -- a legitimate playoff threat.
So, who had the best weekend debut?
Gibbs partnered with Mike Petke, who has been on injured reserve most of the year, in the middle of the Rapids' four-man back line. The duo held up well, combining with in-form Facundo Erpen, who was stationed on the right. They generally kept things quiet in front of replacement goalkeeper Preston Burpo, shepherding a team that desperately needed a win to upend a two-game losing streak at home.
McBride did nothing wrong in his first appearance at Toyota Park, just days after returning from Olympic duty in China. But manager Denis Hamlett had only one practice session with the veteran target forward, and better is sure to come. The Fire got a few balls into McBride, but just finding him is only half the necessary action.
They'll have to supply McBride in better spots. And more importantly, they'll have to get better acquainted with the right runs and timing around him. It's that second ball, the one that comes off McBride, that can truly slice open defenses. So Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe will have to adjust their games a bit to maximize all the hard work McBride is willing to do.
It's up to Hamlett and his staff to determine the best mix. McBride was partnered initially with Andy Herron, but the pair spent too much time too close together, occupying the same space and essentially making the same runs. The Fire desperately need to sort it all out. Hamlett's men, with just four goals in five matches, simply must have the offensive boost.
Crayton, as mentioned, did pretty much everything right in blanking the Fire. He stopped shots, controlled the penalty area and the showed initiative in attempting to launch some quick counter-attacks. Goalkeeping has been United's weakest area, and manager Tom Soehn and his staff seem to have sewn up the hole in their shorts with the Liberian 'keeper, who honed his craft in Switzerland.
Noonan went 58 relatively quiet minutes at Crew Stadium. In fact, the Crew got both their goals in a come-from-behind win over Dallas after Robbie Rogers replaced the former New England Revolution attacker along the left side.
Sikora showed something for FCD, as the north Texans controlled Columbus for a half and came close to swamping the Crew with a flurry of dangerous attacks in the first 45. Playing as left-sided attacker, the Dutchman partnered with Pablo Ricchetti and Andre Rocha to dominate the midfield.
But Sikora's recent lack of game action showed, as he seemed to tire after the break. That helped Columbus seize the initiative in an important 2-1 win for Sigi Schmid's bunch. It left the Crew in first place, although second-place New England has a game in hand.
Smith, acquired by John Carver's TFC late last week, replaced Laurent Robert along the left but couldn't do enough against a well-organized 10-man Red Bulls. RBNY's Gabriel Cichero was ejected early in the second half, but the Canadians, still missing suspended playmaker Amado Guevara, could never engineer enough to seriously threaten Jon Conway's goal.
TACTICAL CORNER
• Colorado, still searching for the proper combination, made some bold moves against the Wizards.
On the bench to start the match: 2006 Major League Soccer MVP Christian Gomez and starting goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Acting manager Gary Smith (filling in for Fernando Clavijo, who was back in Uruguay attending to family matters) drew up a 4-5-1 and adjudged Pablo Mastroeni, Nick LaBrocca and Mehdi Ballouchy, in a "V" shape with Mastroeni sitting deep, to be the best personnel fit.
Now, with a 2-1 win from that system, will Clavijo and Smith stick with it? It would seem to make sense, although that's a lot of expensive international talent to keep on the bench for long.
• If you study Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio, you just know that the task of defending a 1-0 lead for en entire half while a man down got his soccer brain all buzzing and excited.
Further complicating the matter was that Osorio had to concoct a defensive formation without two starting defenders. Not only was Gabriel Cichero out for the 46th-minute red card, Jeff Parke had previously left the match, injured.
So, out went the three-man back line. Dave van den Bergh dropped into left back from his midfield spot. Luke Sassano did the same on the right from his midfield spot, while Kevin Goldthwaite and Andrew Boyens manned the central positions.
Something else interesting from Osorio: Instead of inserting more defensive help into the midfield, he retained Mike Magee and even inserted speedy attacking specialist Dane Richards along the right.
It worked to absolute perfection. Red Bull New York ate up lots of clock with smooth, calm possession, thanks in no small part to Magee. Magee scored the first Red Bulls goal, but his second-half contributions were just as important, finding teammates with clever passes and handling possession with aplomb.
Richards gave Toronto something to deal with along the Red Bulls right side. And in injury time, it was Richards' speed that created Juan Pablo Angel's late clincher.
• San Jose newcomers Scott Sealy and Francisco Lima, filling valuable roles upon their recent introduction at cozy little Buck Shaw, have done their parts in the Earthquakes' exciting surge. Playoffs? Could be.
But it's Darren Huckerby's presence along the right that has keyed San Jose's five-game unbeaten burst.
Ronnie O'Brien, patrolling the right, as always, had previously been the Earthquakes' only real offensive threat. Teams that shut down that side had effectively neutered the Bay bunch. Now that's just not the case. There's trouble coming from either direction, and it's got people rightfully excited about where Frank Yallop could take the first-year club.
If nothing else, it sure will make late-August and September more interesting.
McBride set to make Fire debut
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