As Chelsea conceded the 2nd defeat in their last 3 games to fiercely competitive Aston Villa, most of the leading Blues saw their FTBL rankings take a battering.

England international Ashley Cole dropped the most rating points (25!) to see his overall FTBL rating shrink dramatically (91.57 points). In addition, the game against Villa pushed out of Cole’s Last 5 the 3:0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in which he earned 23.3 rating points.

In his next 5 games Cole will have to clear a combined plank of 24.9 rating points. A prediction at the moment, considering Chelsea’s current lack of stability, is a tough call. We nonetheless risk arguing that Cole will be back in the 110- to 115-point neighborhood by the first 10 days of November. But whether he will be able to return in the World Top 23 by that time remains a big question.