After a successful turnaround season in 2010, in which Red Bulls finished in third place overall before losing in the quarterfinals of the post-season tournament, the club started 2011 hoping to find consistency, make a deeper run in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and vie for the Supporters Shield.

On November 4, due to the 2010 season ending with a disappointing home playoff loss to San Jose Earthquakes, the roster changes began immediately.

The playoff loss marked the end of the careers for defender Mike Petke and midfielder Seth Stammler, each of whom had announced his retirement upon completion of the season.

The departure of captain Juan Pablo Ángel was made official when Red Bulls declined his 2011 contract option and he opted to participate in the inaugural MLS Re-Entry Draft.

The rookie defender earned much praise from the club in pre-season, with coach Hans Backe stating, "The way he started this preseason, he looks better in February than Tim Ream did when he arrived.

Horwath was immediately placed into action on March 26 at Columbus Crew due to an injury to starting goalkeeper Greg Sutton and the international call-up of backup keeper Bouna Coundoul.

Injuries kept Sutton and Thierry Henry from traveling with the club, while international duty removed Coundoul, Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream, Dane Richards, and Rafael Marquez from the Red Bulls lineup.

The money issue was solved by Red Bulls with De Rosario's agent stating, "We have a very satisfactory agreement with NY and Dwayne can't wait to get on the field for them.

One week later, Red Bulls fell at Philadelphia Union by a 1-0 score, the lone goal a result of a horrible gaffe by defender Tim Ream.

[14] Sporting Director Erik Solér stated, "Todd has a great deal of experience in American soccer and will be a valuable asset to our coaching squad."

Red Bulls also announced on April 28 that the club would go to London in late July to participate in the Emirates Cup, hosted by English Premier League side Arsenal.

Tim Ream made an outstanding goal-line clearance, winning MLS Save of the Week, to thwart a second Donovan scoring chance before the break.

Near month's end, five players were called to international duty for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream for the United States, Rafa Marquez for Mexico, Dane Richards for Jamaica, and Dwayne De Rosario for Canada.

A makeshift squad including Mehdi Ballouchy, Stephen Keel, Carlos Mendes, Austin da Luz, and substitute Matt Kassel conceded a 92nd-minute goal to drop 2 points.

This match exposed the lack of depth on the squad, a shortcoming exacerbated by the reluctance of Hans Backe to give his younger players any meaningful minutes.

Off the field, the club announced on June 10 that Chris Heck, a former National Basketball Association executive, would take over business operations from Erik Stover, who had overseen the construction of Red Bull Arena.

Internationally, the Gold Cup concluded with Rafa Marquez's Mexico squad beating Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo's United States side in the final on June 25.

The shock of the month - if not the season - was provided on June 27 when the club announced it traded Dwayne De Rosario to rivals D.C. United for midfielder Dax McCarty.

Another season low point was reached on July 12 when Red Bulls were eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup by a 4–0 thrashing at Chicago Fire in a quarterfinal match-up.

Despite the fact that New York is the only original MLS club to never win a major trophy, team management decided that the U.S. Open Cup was not a priority and sent a squad lacking any regular starters to Chicago.

General Manager Erik Soler stated "Frank is a very experienced goalkeeper who will provide a strong presence in-between the posts for our club during our quest for a MLS title," and "we are thrilled that he has decided to join us in the middle of our campaign and look forward to his contributions for the remainder of the season.

Off the field that same day, the club announced that goalkeeper Greg Sutton, made redundant with the arrival of Frank Rost, had been loaned to North American Soccer League side Montreal Impact for the remainder of the season.

Supporters were again confused by the move, this time for trading an inexpensive, capable, domestic player to rivals D.C. for an international slot that reverts to D.C. at season's end.

After defeating Paris Saint-Germain of French Ligue 1 on July 30 by a 1–0 scoreline,[26] Red Bulls then drew 1–1 against hosts, Arsenal of the English Premier League.

To make matters worse, new goalkeeper Frank Rost was removed at halftime due to an injury he suffered while sitting on the airplane on the flight from London to America.

The Chicago game featured emergency goalkeeper Chris Konopka as starter due to Rost's injury, the loan of Greg Sutton, an international call-up for Bouna Coundoul, and an apparent lack of faith by Coach Backe in third-string keeper Alex Horwath.

During August, Red Bulls traded a 2013 MLS SuperDraft pick to Sporting Kansas City for midfielder Stéphane Auvray and loaned rookie defender Tyler Lassiter to North American Soccer League side Carolina RailHawks.

After the Salt Lake match, Designated Player Rafa Marquez, who had been singled out recently by fans for his indifferent performance and lack of hustle, gave a scathing interview in which he denigrated his teammates, Tim Ream specifically.

Other players joined the fray, with Los Angeles midfielder Juninho landing an elbow to the face of unsuspecting Red Bulls defender Stephen Keel.

[33] To add insult to injury, Dwayne De Rosario, discarded after less than three months with New York, was named 2011 Most Valuable Player of Major League Soccer.