Only once before in his life has Ben Robinson, Burton Albion's 73-year-old chairman, had cause to visit the Etihad Stadium. 'I got an invite from Robbie Williams's dad,' he says, without a hint of anticipation at the surprise this might cause.
Robbie Williams's dad?
'Pete Conway is his stage name. He is a singer too. I met him years ago at Uttoxeter Races. Lovely guy. We were raising money for charity. We've stayed friends and a couple of years ago he was doing a slot singing with his son at the Etihad. He invited me and my other half. It was an amazing show.'
Williams, it turns out, made a habit of getting his dad on stage during his tour. They would do a duet of Sweet Caroline, the Neil Diamond classic.
As enjoyable as that was, Robinson's next date at Manchester City's ground, this Wednesday, promises to be an altogether more memorable occasion.
Against all odds Burton are in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, facing a side 51 places above them on the footballer ladder and in another galaxy financially.
But Burton, under Robinson, have been dancing on expectations for some time. When Nigel Clough first came to the club 20 years ago they were in the Southern Football League Premier Division.
In 2017 Clough, in his second spell, achieved a miraculous survival in the Championship, five tiers higher. Gravity took hold last season but now, to reach this stage, they have upset Aston Villa, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, and Middlesbrough.
'As a club, first and foremost we've always been community orientated,' Robinson tells Sportsmail.
'We put a great emphasis on that family spirit. We have developed over the years gradually. I am not a rich chairman. We have not had millions to spend. Nigel's philosophy with signing players, like his dad, is that the character is important.
'You think about when we started off all those years ago, going to Margate on a wet, windy Tuesday night. There and back in a day. So these games are very special.
'We are hopeful we might make half a million pounds, over the two legs, with the TV coverage as well. It would give us funds to strengthen the team and there are certain areas of the ground we can improve. It is a massive bonus.'
For City, £500,000 might cover Sergio Aguero's wages for a fortnight. For Burton, the figure represents their club-record transfer, set last summer when signing Liam Boyce.
The club's annual wage bill stands at £3million. City's is £260m. These sides should not be sharing a field at this stage of a competition.
Robinson says it will be Burton's biggest ever game, superseding their FA Cup tie against Manchester United in 2006 when a Conference side. They held United to a 0-0 draw, and caused such a fright Sir Alex Ferguson sent on Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney with 30 minutes left.
Robinson cried at the final whistle. The replay at Old Trafford earned £800,000 and was transformative, paying for the overspend at the new Pirelli Stadium.
An unknown element of the story is that Burton had to battle in court too. Robinson withheld payment to a drainage company, who had dumped 40 tonnes of sand on the pitch as a remedy and left.
The company's lawyer argued they were due money because the poor surface had aided Burton's windfall. 'I had to get a letter from Alex Ferguson to say that it was the way Nigel prepared his players and nothing to do with the pitch,' Robinson reveals. 'We won the case.'
Robinson's upbringing shaped his determined character. His mother Edna became engaged to Clarence Pettiford, a black US soldier, when he was stationed in Burton during the Second World War.
But Pettiford was recalled and never spoke to his son. Edna married Frank Leslie, a long-distance lorry driver, when Robinson was seven and the family lived together in a council estate in Rolleston. Leslie took his stepson to Burton games.
'I grew up in a white household but as a family we always embraced black culture,' Robinson says. Occasionally, his skin colour has meant opposition directors mistakenly look past him in boardrooms, shaking other hands first.
Robinson brushes off such incidents but is proud to have been welcomed onto the Football Black List in November. 'I didn't realise I was the only black chairman,' he adds.
He has connected with his American family in the last 15 years and is speaks regularly to Gale Pettiford, a cousin in North Carolina. 'She follows stuff on Facebook, if something happens she sends me little messages,' he says, showing a picture of her on his phone. 'She is interested in the sport through my connection.'
Robinson's love for football is clear. 'In 1966 I went to the states after England had won the World Cup, and saw Santos play Inter Milan at the old Yankee Stadium. I sat right up in the gods and got a programme.
'So when Pele came to Derby last year I got him to sign it. He remembered playing in a baseball stadium. He is humble, very much in tune with people.'
The same can be said of Robinson, whose vibrancy is infectious. 'I have always enjoyed meeting people,' he says. 'Establishing good connections over the years has been invaluable.'
He first became involved at Burton in 1975 and tells a tale about the club selling Peter Ward to Brighton for £4,000. Peter Taylor subsequently took Ward to Nottingham Forest for £350,000. 'I said if I ever get to be chairman no player leaves this club without a sell-on,' he says.
Despite long being past retirement age, he still works seven days a week. 'On a Saturday morning I come into the office, unless we go away with the team, and on Sunday I pop in too. It's been a way of life for years. You just hope you keep your marbles and your health.'
Robinson discovered he also has native American heritage and his son Ben, who is Burton's head of hospitality, has called his baby Takoma. 'It means friend to everyone in Cherokee,' Robinson says. His daughter Fleur is commercial director and on the FA Council.
They are all excited at the prospect of facing Pep Guardiola's special side. Having Clough at the helm is important.
'There was a possibility Nigel might have gone to Forest in January 2017 but since then I've had nobody approach me. That would surprise you. People marvel at what Nigel has achieved. Maybe one day one of the big clubs will come in and good luck to them.'
Masterminding victory over City would have clubs clambering for his signature. Burton have gone to City's ground before and won. But that was at Maine Road for the Northern Premier League Cup final against Macclesfield in 1983. 'Neil Warnock was my manager then,' Robinson says. 'We beat them 2-1.'
What chance of success again? Robinson blows a raspberry. 'If they play their third team and have an off day, and our players play out of their skin, anything is possible.'