One of the great pleasures of starting to read a new book is the sense of wide-open possibility. I always read those first few sentences, first few paragraphs, in a state of high alert. I’m constantly looking for information to help make sense of the new world I’m taking my first steps into. I’ve probably got a basic idea of the set up from the blurb on the back cover, but my impressions of the main character and the situation they face are still embryonic and this is the point where they start to take shape.

The start of a football season is similar in some ways. Everything is wiped back to zero, no one has any points under their belt so in one sense anyone can win. On the other hand, you’ve got a pretty good idea of who the title contenders are and who is going to be in a season-long battle against relegation. There are always a few sides who end up punching above (or below) their weight, but by and large you know the lie of the land. There isn’t the same sense of a complete blank slate that you get with starting a book – maybe a new football season is more like starting the latest book in a series, one with plenty of already-established leading characters.

There are always a few curve-balls thrown in to our expectations though. New managers can result in teams forging a new footballing identity – will Arne Slot’s Liverpool be the same as Jurgen Klopp’s? Will the latest manager through the revolving door at Chelsea last longer than the milk in the club canteen? Equally, when star players have departed, will their replacements hit the ground running, or will teams find themselves grinding the gears and struggling to keep up? Like a new book, a new football season is full of questions and anticipation.

As a Fulham fan, I’m sorry that we won’t be seeing Joao Paulinha anymore, but wish him nothing but good things after his big move to Bayern Munich. Similarly, other much-loved players – Tim Ream, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Willian among them – have moved on as well. At the same time, I’m excited to see how our new record signing Emile Smith-Rowe settles in. There’s also the matter of homecoming hero Ryan Sessegnon’s return after five years in the Spurs treatment room. Sess broke into the Fulham first team as a 16-year-old and is up there with the club’s most popular players in recent years, so there will be a huge response from the fans once he runs out in a Fulham shirt again. Will he be able to shake off the legacy of his injuries and recreate the excitement of his teenage years at the club? The only way to find out is to wait and see.

Books and football seasons promise excitement and an unfolding narrative. They’re not always predictable, but that element of surprise and uncertainty is half of the fun. When I’m writing, I want to always give the reader a reason to keep on reading, to leave them with questions that need answering or situations that need to be resolved; that's something that any football season offers in abundance. Something deep within us responds to a good story, and football is one of the many ways that we seek to fulfil that need. When Fulham kick off at Manchester United on Friday night – I’ll be there, by the way – it will represent the first chapter of another long, glorious tale. Whether or not it provides me with a happy ending remains to be seen.