Why do people say the English Opening is bad?

I always love to use the English opening, c4 which opens up my queen as well as offers options for my knight. But my coach says that c4 isn't good and asked me to use the king's pawn opening. Why is the English bad?

It is not a bad opening.

Probably your coach feels that you should get some experience in 1.e4 first. That is what people usually do when starting out. 1.d4 and 1.c4 (which can sometimes transpose into 1.d4 games) gives a bit more positional games (of course that is only a general rule and can be right or wrong for specific cases).

You don't have to, but most people try to play 1.e4 before they decide if they want to switch to something else or not.

huh yeah maybe but I always prefer c4 over e4 lol

Well, what can I say.    I don't want to undermine the authority of your coach. Playing 1.e4 first is probably a bit more reasonable because you will be exposed to a number of different defenses and chess positions in general.

1.c4 is either used by some players to not go into certain variations of 1.d4 openings, to avoid certain options black has against 1.d4, or it is used as a separate opening.

In the first case, a novice player is better of starting of with 1.d4 directly and be exposed to those positions (if he really doesn't want to play 1.e4 for some reason).

In the second case, it is a fine opening but you will be exposed to a lot less stuff compared to playing 1.e4. 

I want to emphasize that I haven't got experience with coaching and if you wish to improve, it is most likely better to listen to your coach. In the end, you are paying him so you might as well use his advice.

All that being said, chess should be fun, so if you don't like 1.e4, and wish to play 1.c4, do it. But bear in mind that if you don't listen to your coach, he can't be held accountable for the lack of progress (if it occurs).

e4 tends to lead to more open positions with more tactics and less slow positional maneuvering compared to d4 and c4 openings. Since learning tactics is the number one priority for a beginner, some coaches tell their students to only play e4 openings.

"But my coach says that c4 isn't good and asked me to use the king's pawn opening."
++ It does not really matter. Tactics decide games, not openings.

"Why is the English bad?"
++ It is not. Carlsen even played it twice in his last World Championship Match.

What is a beginner?

#8
The original poster with a rating of 665 qualifies as a beginner.
#7
By the same logic also the Sicilian Defence is a good defence, but bad for a beginner?

As per above, like the Sicilian Defence it is not a bad opening objectively speaking, but it tends to lead to a lot of complex positions that are difficult even for experienced players.

Aim to reach 1000 first. Once you reach 1000, you can ask your coach if (s)he thinks you are ready for playing the English Opening. Assuming that you have a good coach, the answer might still be no at that point.

#6 is also correct in that <1000 level your opponents would not know how to play against the English opening and make a lot of tactical errors so even as a beginner it is certainly possible to win games with the English opening. It is just a bit simpler and easier to start off with 1.e4

Your coach is good. You should first learn how to deal with Open Positions which complements your tactics training perfectly. There are so many people saying it is so much theory when in reality what they mean is that they fall for simple traps and tactics that could have been prevented by actually calculating and thinking properly.

Later on when you make the transition to the closed or flank games you will be thankful for the countless of losses you experienced in open positions as you already learnt the necessary fundamentals. You will realize later on that chess strategy is strongly connected with tactics and calculation as well.

Just follow your coach advice and learn how to play proper chess applying chess principles like Development, Centre Control, Restriction etc. This is easier to apply in th Open Games.

1.c4 is not a bad opening at all. But at a beginner level, the English is not appropriate. Your coach is correct in encouraging you to learn 1.e4 first. It's extremely principled and instructive.

Most strong players (and world champions) will agree that opening with the king's pawn is the best starting point, when it comes to learning chess properly.

yeah I understand that but I've done e4 many times in real life and online chess against bots but I've not been in comfortable positions tactically rather then when I use e4. With c4, I could even beat bots up to Sven but e4 didn't bring such comfort to me. Maybe I just have to learn more

I'm not exactly a beginner lol. 

My parents think i'm a beginner but I would call myself an intermediate one. I've been playing chess for 5 years, playing with some pretty good opponents and I've only got a coach now. 
When I was a beginner, I would use e4 but gradually I started using c4. Perhaps my coach thinks of all his students as beginners?

I agree with you. Thanks for the advice

LMAO TOASTED

I didn't say that, did I? I never said I was a 'master of the known universe'. I am fully aware of my abilities, I just asked why people say the english opening is bad. 

my good sir, if I truly were a 'Master of the Known Universe', would I have asked this question? Masters know everything, I don't. I am new to O.N.L.I.N.E chess, not actual chess. 

I admit, I am bad at it but I'm doing my best to improve. Self-awareness is something not all of us have, and some of your words have made me self aware. This was a misunderstanding, and after all I appreciate what you said @pfren. 

you all will be seeing more e4 games from me lol

Well, by "beginner" I mean in terms of relative strength, as opposed to time played.

Again, 1.c4 is fine, but it's more of a positional opening. The ideas in it are more abstract, and less concrete.

In some lines, for example, white "undevelops" his f3 knight and redirects it to c2. In others, white gives himself a backward pawn in the center and prepares a pawn advance on the queenside with the support of his queen rook ... These ideas (and others) are generally considered too advanced for beginners to grasp and handle properly.

With 1.e4, the strategies tend to be more direct and principled - easier to understand and easier to learn from.

I'd argue that playing 1.e4, at your level, will definitely make you a stronger player in the long run.