I completely disagree. A power meter for some people is worth much more than a cycling coach, not to mention a cycling coach would like you to have a power meter of some sort on the bike. POWER is the best way to see if your training is working or not. Training via POWER is also vastly superior to training by heartrate. I think its silly that some amateur would have a cycling coach before a simple watt measuring tool.
If you don't know how to use a Power Meter, then it is a worthless tool. Based on what the OP says, he does not have the experience or knowledge to develop a solid training plan. A coach can do that for him. Yes, a Coach AND Power Meter is ideal, but based on what the OP is saying, just training with a coach is better than what he is currently doing.
Just using a Power Meter to track wattage makes it no better than a fancy bike computer.
And as a point of reference, I've been using a power meter for three years, but training with a coach for four. Additionally, my wife, who races on the development squad of an elite women's cycling team that has put riders in Liberty and other national events, only acquired a power meter a couple of weeks ago after spending two years training with a coach.