> PHP is not any worse or better than any other language.

I disagree. Consider the following PHP:

    function inc_all($i, $xs) {
        array_map($xs, function($x) use ($i) { return $x + $i; });
    }

And compare it to the equivalent in, for instance, Haskell:

    inc_all i = map (+ i)

Most languages can express the same concepts as PHP, but can do so much more clearly and concisely. The criticism of PHP is deserved: it's a very badly designed language.