Blackpool vs. West Ham: 6 Things We Learned from Championship Playoff Final

In the richest football match on earth, West Ham dramatically defeated Blackpool 2-1 on Saturday to win promotion into the Barclays Premier League just one year after relegation.

Carlton Cole struck first for the Hammers at Wembley before Thomas Ince cancelled out his effort just after the break with a fine finish of his own.

As the match began to get cagey in the final minutes, it was Portuguese winger Ricardo Vaz Te who stepped up to the plate and smashed a drive into the roof of the net that sent West Ham back up to the big boys' table.

Vaz Te might never score a bigger goal in his life, and his club will relish the £90 million windfall that the Hammers will get from promotion.

Here are six things we learned from a great prelude to the Champions League Final.

Vaz Te Is the Biggest Bargain of the Season

It is hard to believe that the Portuguese winger who sent West Ham to the Premier League arrived for only £500,000 in January.

And yet that is the paltry sum that the Hammers paid to Barnsley for the scorer of 21 goals in 39 Championship games this season, which is second only to Rickie Lambert's 25.

Vaz Te has been instrumental in carrying his side through the treacherous journey of the promotion playoffs, and it was only fitting that such an important member of the team would score the most important goal of the season,

If he begins to wreak havoc on the Premier League like Charlie Adam did for Blackpool last season, he might be lured away for a substantially larger sum than £500,000.

Thomas Ince Continues to Rise

At only 20 years old, Thomas Ince is well on his way to establishing himself as a crucial member of Blackpool's squad, and his importance in recent matches cannot go understated.

Orchestrator of one of the crucial goals that put his side through to the final, Ince has plenty of pace to burn on the wing and troubled the West Ham defence throughout the match.

Proving that he is more than just another lower league player with speed, Ince hit a beautiful finish past Robert Green just after the halftime break to level the scores, which would have been enough to force extra time if not for Ricardo Vaz Te's late magic.

As with Vaz Te, if Ince keeps this up next season, some of the big boys might start circling.

Matt Taylor Will Be Crucial for West Ham Next Season

Both in defence and attack, Matt Taylor was massive for West Ham, and the Hammers largely have him to thank for their return to the Prem.

When he was not busy taking Ince out of the game, the 30-year-old was marauding forward and providing wicked crosses with his left foot that always threatened the shaky Blackpool defence.

Taylor's neat pass to Carlton Cole for the first goal of the day took his assist total to a team-leading 10 for the season, and he has been a key cog in West Ham's attack all season.

If he can pepper top teams with the sorts of crosses that he sprayed across the Blackpool back line, he will be a great weapon next season.

Blackpool Have Plenty to Smile About

Losing a match of this magnitude by such fine margins is never easy to stomach, but Blackpool and their fans can take many positives from their flirtation with promotion.

For one, they enjoyed the bulk of both possession and chances against a side that had beaten them handily twice this season and that finished with 11 more points in the table.

Also, wingers Matt Phillips and Thomas Ince were very positive going forward, showing that manager Ian Holloway has not lost his uncanny knack for building attacking teams on a budget.

This time next year, expect the Seasiders to be in this very same position if they have not secured promotion already.

Sam Allardyce Has Worked Wonders

After being unceremoniously dismissed from Blackburn Rovers last season, it is fair to say that Sam Allardyce has more than landed on his feet and is laughing at his former bosses as he does so.

Big Sam bit the bullet and went down to a lower division but built a team capable of success and one that is certainly better than that which he arrived to.

Astute purchases and loans like those of Vaz Te and captain Kevin Nolan from Barnsley and Newcastle, respectively, have played very large parts is propelling the Hammers back into the Premier League.

And Allardyce has also managed to wring the best out of crucial players like Carlton Cole, whose industrious work rate and tidy finish embodies his team's spirit this season.

West Ham Will Stay Up

West Ham have showed this season that they not only had the quality to earn automatic promotion, but they have the ability to avoid relegation next season.

The old Hammers side that was relegated a year ago was a team bereft of quality, guile and grit. Now, Upton Park is treated to a team that can pick sides apart and remain firm at the back, with an even tougher boss at the helm.

If the past two seasons are any indication, the Championship is producing teams worthy of promotion, as only one club out of the six promoted, Blackpool, went down the next season.

And West Ham do not appear to be ready to buck that trend, with a balanced and strong squad that can certainly take care of itself in the top flight.

Follow @charliemelman