Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United: How Losing to United Was a Good Thing

Tottenham's opening game was originally scheduled to be against Everton, but due to the London riots, this game was postponed and Spurs then had to face the red half of Manchester for their English Premier League opener.

After it all was said and done, the game finished 3-0 in favor of United. According to the Sky Sports website, Tottenham manager Harry Reknapp said he was "disappointed" by the result.

Three goals to nothing does not describe how close the game should have been.

Spurs lasted 61 minutes before the Red Devils' avalanche of goals fell down on Spurs. Tottenham is inches away from having a complete team but these failed offensive opportunities often lead to increased opportunities for the opposition.

Soap-boxing aside, is this loss as bad as it seems? No.

Sure, Tottenham start the season three points down but they do have a game in hand. After thinking and rethinking, the loss was actually a blessing in disguise.

This opening loss for Spurs is the final piece of encouragement needed by Redknapp and chairman Daniel Levy to splash the cash and spring for a quality striker.

Going in to the game, I was terrified that Defoe or Pavlyuchenko would score and give the higher powers just enough confidence to let them see out the first half of the season with some sub-par strikers. Now it is oh-so-clear.

Tottenham need a game-changing striker who can put the ball in the back of the net. Van der Vaart can only do so much from midfield and is resorting to taking shots from 40 yards out. Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon are being held back because of a lack of adequate striking on the end of their supply. As spectators, we saw the results of this in Lennon's decreasing quality as he became discouraged and Bale taking more and more ill-advised shots.

I think it's quite simple: Spurs need a striker—now.