... but no-one can doubt that Sylvain Distin did the business at St James' Park when he was here.
But he has taken stick from Everton fans of late, as he comes to the end of his career.
Everton's run of seven straight wins came to an abrupt end with a 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace, and the defeat at Goodison Park could prove costly in the race for fourth place.
Sylvain Distin took to Twitter to chat to fans after the match, and got told to "f---ing leg it" by one angry supporter, because he wasn't "good enough."
Mick Hannan @MickHanEfc
@sylvaind15tin fuken leg it distin u give your all mate but your not good enough
Distin's response:
Sylvain Distin ✔ @sylvaind15tin
@MickHanEfc maybe not mate but you can't afford better at the minutes so stop moaning kid
The 36-year-old from France has spent the majority of his career in the English top flight, and he has been at Everton since 2009.
His answer was disarmingly honest—and probably, given his years of service, unduly harsh on himself.