As of 1 April 2011, all
A-League clubs were able to negotiate new kit supplier deals as the previous contract with
Reebok had elapsed and as such, Adelaide United negotiated a three-year deal with
Erreà. Off-season transfers marked the departure of long serving players
Travis Dodd,
Lucas Pantelis and
Robert Cornthwaite, and of fan favourites
Mathew Leckie and
Marcos Flores to overseas clubs. In a coup for the club and the
A-League, Rini Coolen managed to secure the signatures of
Socceroos Bruce Djite,
Jon McKain and
Dario Vidošić; with the latter being offered the Australian marquee player status at the club for the season. The signing of
Ukrainian international,
Evgeniy Levchenko completed Adelaide's foreign player quota. It was announced at the season launch gala dinner on 26 August that the club's captain for the season would be Jon McKain, with Cássio and Eugene Galeković named as vice-captains. During the last weeks of the off-season in September, Adelaide recruited its final players to complete the squad for the season.
Ricardo Da Silva was scouted and signed from local
South Australian Super League outfit,
Adelaide City, whilst
double-winning defenders
Milan Susak and
Antony Golec were signed to add extra depth to the squad. On 30 September 2011, the club announced its intention to purchase the Veneto Club complex located in
Beverley, South Australia for an estimated $4 million and rename it the "Reds Centre". It is proposed that the refurbished facilities will be used as the club's permanent training venue for the players as well as for hosting post-match gatherings. On 12 December 2011 it became evident that the deal had fallen through due to unacceptable changes made to the contract between land owners and the club. The Veneto Centre was soon thereafter sold to Royal Park Salvage, despite the final sale not being announced. On 18 December 2011 it was announced that head coach
Rini Coolen had been sacked and replaced by former coach
John Kosmina as caretaker coach for the rest of the season, including the AFC Champions League group stage of 2012. == Players ==