Without their first-choice XI last season, Crystal Palace struggled. When fixture congestion arrived and injuries to Daniel Munoz, Daichi Kamada and Jean-Philippe Mateta were combined with Ismaila Sarr’s departure for the Africa Cup of Nations, they began to crumble.It was that pressure which drove their summer recruitment. A deeper squad was necessary and 11 new players were signed.The question is whether that means that manager Pierre Sage has been put in a position where Palace are stronger than they were at the end of last season. There is now a seemingly good second option in every position.. He certainly has more options to rotate and change his side.That is what he did in Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup. Of Palace’s starting line-up, only Yeremy Pino was a regular last season and seven of them were new signings. Cohesion was lacking, at least in the first half, in the same way it had been in their 3-2 win over Fulham on Saturday, but with more mitigation this time.Better teams will exploit how open Palace are, this being another game in which they allowed a high total of touches in their area (52), but equally, with Sage saying he prefers a stable team and as players become more accustomed to each other and the way he wants to play, that should improve in time. He implied that if in future it has not, then he will lose his job.Sage wants that consistent XI and perhaps will chose not to stray too far from that, but he has the opportunities to switch things around should he so wish. He will need to, with eight Europa League games guaranteed. That wasn’t something from which his predecessor Oliver Glasner could benefit, regardless of the reasons why.For all those arrivals, there were departures as well. Some will point to the loss of Maxence Lacroix, who joined Chelsea for £52million, as a potentially major problem, given he has not been directly replaced. At right wing-back, Daniel Munoz, to a lesser extent, is difficult to replace, having joined Nottingham Forest for £22m, even with a young talent in Anan Khalaili joining from Union Saint-Gilloise.Those two were a huge part of Palace’s success under Glasner. They will be missed. Lacroix’s presence as a leader in the team and a strong character was important, particularly in those challenging times, and he built a rapport with the supporters which should not be underestimated.On the pitch, he developed into an excellent centre-back and enjoyed that consistency alongside firstly Marc Guehi and Chris Richards, and latterly Jaydee Canvot. While, financially, it was a good deal for Palace, it left them short of experience and someone with that know-how and familiarity with the club.Both Lacroix and Munoz, though, were part of the old regime. Change is here under Sage and while both would no doubt have still remained instrumental, it is not that two players who had been integral and understood his exact way of playing have left. They would have needed time to adjust just as those new players do.Palace are probably weaker at centre-back overall, though, and two loans are not ideal. It was admittedly against Championship opposition, but Honest Ahanor showed signs of promise, playing a major role in the opening goal with a driving forward run. At wing-back, they have more options. Oscar Mingueza and Ben Chilwell both provided perfect crosses for Jorgen Strand Larsen to head in two goals.Axel Disasi, on loan from Chelsea, brings experience and leadership called for by Sage and has shown enough in his opening two appearances to suggest he can go some way to filling the Lacroix-shaped hole, while Takehiro Tomiyasu has significant pedigree, even if his injury history means he may not be able to feature regularly.Despite the improved depth, they have not made signings which improve their starting XI, or, with the exception of Dario Osorio and Zavier Gozo, who they can potentially develop into regulars and sell on, in line with their recruitment model.But their first-choice XI last season was good enough to take on most in the Premier League when fit and not be exhausted by a Conference League-winning campaign. The main question marks now surround the centre-back position and the right-sided No 10 role should Sarr’s disenchantment at being denied a move away affect his performances.Dario Osorio made his first Palace start against Middlesbrough (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)It is not that every new player adds huge quality and competition, but those individuals should still have enough to not fall apart when better options are unavailable.Osorio has shown individual brilliance and star quality, but at a lower level and different style of division than the Premier League. He struggled to make any impact against Middlesbrough, but that does not necessarily mean he will not contribute meaningfully this season — it is just highly unlikely he will make the same impression as a fully functioning Sarr. That is inevitable.Palace’s transfer activity has simply given them the chance to rotate more effectively without risking results so much. Their likely first-choice side has not improved, but that option to make changes will surely have benefits for everyone in the squad by lessening the load.The squad is not perfect but it seems that, despite losing two key players, Palace are in an overall better position than before.