Now that he's Everton manager, Rafa Benitez is still having to shake off his "small club" remarks about the Blues made after a Merseyside Derby at Anfield over 14 years ago.
With less than £2million spent so far, the Spaniard is yet to make any big purchases at Goodison Park since he took charge.
Everton continue to be linked with a move for the distinctive figure of 5ft 4in European Championship-winning Italy star Lorenzo Insigne.
He'd certainly be a major acquisition in terms of reputation but how might he measure up to some of the ‘Mighty Atoms’ who have turned out for the Blues over the years?
The 30-year-old’s contract situation continues to cause problems at Napoli and reports claim that Benitez – who coached him at the Serie A outfit between 2013-15 – could swoop to bring him to Merseyside.
Here’s a look at some of the players who were small in stature but big in impact for Everton.
Bernard (5ft 4 ½in)
Officially standing at 1.64m – just a single centimetre taller than Insigne – Bernard departed Everton after three seasons earlier this summer to join United Arab Emirates outfit Sharjah.
Picked up on a Bosman-style free transfer after his contract expired at Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, the Brazilian netted eight times for the Blues in 88 games, including the dramatic extra time winner to defeat Tottenham 5-4 in the FA Cup earlier this year but while he could be spectacular on his day, the winger struggled to make much of an impact in his final season on Merseyside.
Steven Pienaar (5ft 7in)
The twinkle-toed South African midfielder was signed by David Moyes on five separate occasions – four of which were for Everton (twice on loan and then permanent deals).
As a player he struck up an effective partnership with Leighton Baines down the left flank and after hanging up his boots he returned to the Blues in an ambassadorial role before joining the youth coaching staff at another former club Ajax earlier this summer.
Adrian Heath (5ft 6in)
Nicknamed 'Inchy' because of his small size, Heath became Everton's then record signing when Howard Kendall snapped him up from his home city club, Stoke, for £750,000 in January 1982.
Offering a different kind of attacking threat to the club's other target man strikers, Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray, he could also operate as an attacking midfielder and won two League Championships with the Blues as well as playing in the 2-0 win over Watford in the 1984 FA Cup final.
Now 60, he is head coach of Minnesota United in Major League Soccer.
Alan Ball (5ft 6in)
Considered by many to have been the most talented outfield player in the club's history, Ball joined Everton on the back of a man-of-the-match performance for England in their 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.
An ultra-competitive perfectionist he formed one third of the Blues most celebrated midfield trios alongside Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall, winning the 1970 League Championship before being controversially sold to Arsenal just 18 months later.
Bobby Collins (5ft 3in)
Dubbed 'The Little General', Collins' time at Goodison Park (1958-62) correlated with an era in which Everton were on an upward curve but there were still regrets that he didn't stick around longer.
The Glaswegian could have joined the Blues as a 17-year-old but following a contractual dispute he returned home to sign for Celtic instead.
Then at the other end of his career, after departing the Blues he went on to enjoy an Indian summer at Leeds United with whom he was named FWA Footballer of the Year aged 34 in 1965.
Alec Troup (5ft 5in)
Unimaginatively nicknamed 'Wee Troupie', the Forfar-born winger joined Everton from Dundee in 1923.
The diminutive wide man was Dixie Dean's main supply line during the prolific Blues centre-forward's early years at Goodison and set up the most famous goal in club history as his corner-kick against Arsenal in 1928 teed up Dean for his record-breaking 60 on the final day of the 1927/28 season.
Johnny Holt (5ft 5in)
Known as 'The Little Devil' the tricky Lancastrian was one of the smallest centre-halves to play top flight football.
Everton's first England international, he made 252 appearances for them over a decade of service between 1888-98 after joining from local rivals Bootle.
Official club accounts said: “Given his diminutive stature, Holt would resort to unorthodox methods in order to outwit opposing forwards and he specialised in niggly little fouls which would go unnoticed by referees.
“He was a terrific jumper, using his solid physique to great advantage and also an expert when it came to one-on-one situations, perfecting the art of the last minute tackle.”
