After a disappointing 2011 season, Red Bulls looked to bounce back to their 2010 form which saw them win the Eastern Conference.

The club lost in the two-legged quarterfinals of the post-season playoffs to the eventual MLS Cup winner Los Angeles Galaxy.

The following day clubs submitted their list of players protected from selection by Montreal Impact in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft held on November 23, 2011.

Through waivers, New York parted ways with goalkeeper Alex Horwath; defenders Mike Jones, Tyler Lassiter, and Teddy Schneider; and midfielders John Rooney and Marcos Paullo.

[2] Mendes had been the longest-tenured member of Red Bulls and was the last player remaining from when the franchise was known as New York MetroStars.

The same day the club confirmed the status of 2011 Red Bull goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who was also available in the Re-Entry Draft.

The day's second announcement was the acquisition of forward Kenny Cooper from Portland Timbers in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money.

The following day oft-injured veteran midfielder Carl Robinson retired and joined the coaching staff of Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Early the following week, New York signed goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo from Finnish side AC Oulu.

[9] January 26 saw the official departure of defender Tim Ream to Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League after a month-long transfer saga.

Bolton paid a record transfer fee for an American defender, reportedly in the $3 million range, to sign Ream.

[11] Red Bulls will receive 2/3 of the transfer amount and can use $650,000 of that as allocation money to override the MLS salary cap.

Red Bulls finished the month by re-signing stalwart midfielder Joel Lindpere to a multi-year contract on January 31.

The club surprised fans on February 17 by waiving second-year homegrown players Matt Kassel and Šaćir Hot.

[15] While 2012 playing time for the two was likely to be limited, the young players were just signed from Red Bulls Academy in 2011 and did not count against the team's salary cap.

Also, team captain Thierry Henry returned from his short-term loan to Arsenal the same day that Kassel and Hot were waived.

Forward Luke Rodgers was still stuck in England unable to obtain a work visa to return to the United States; newly acquired defender Wilman Conde picked up an injury leaving his status for the first month of the regular season unknown; and forward Juan Agudelo was away from the club for an extended period as he trained with the U.S. Under-23 squad.

In the days just before the regular season began, New York made official the signings of defender Tyler Ruthven, midfielder Brandon Barklage and forwards José Angulo and Jhonny Arteaga.

The introduction of Kenny Cooper sparked some life into the club and the Red Bull substitute scored late in the match to close the final margin to one.

On March 25, New York Red Bulls home opener, the team finally showed glimpses of unity and talents by sweeping Colorado Rapids 4–1 in front of 21,024 passionate supporters.

After the inspiring talk from team captain Thierry Henry, Red Bulls put on a performance fans expected from them.

Thierry Henry added 2 goals and 1 creative back-heel assist in the second half, which earn him his first-ever MLS hat trick since joining New York Red Bulls.

[19] Worse still, the club announced on March 30 that English striker Luke Rodgers was denied a work visa to enter the United States.

Henry scored the eventual deciding goal for the Red Bulls in the seventh minute, but would leave the game in the first half with a hamstring injury.

Philadelphia was forced to play with ten men after Freddy Adu was sent off late in the first half, and New York was able to come back to win.

Juan Pablo Ángel scored first for Chivas in the 47th minute, but Cooper answered in the 56th to tie the game when he converted a low cross from Richards into the box.

[33] Last updated: August 21, 2011Source: New York Red Bulls Official Website Italic: denotes no longer with club.