Isn't that another instance of the world going soft? OK, team is getting thrashed - shouldn't that be an incentive for them to try harder, learn from their mistakes and see how the opposition is managing to turn them over so easily. Sorry, kids have to learn, sometimes maybe the hard way - but playing against better oppositon can only improve your own game, regardless of what sport it is.
Look at the Scottish Highland League - Fort William finished bottom last year with a negative goal difference of about 150, they're well on the way to repeating that this year, and have also been docked 9 points for ineligible players so are currently on a points score of minus 7 having managed two drawn games!!! Yet they seem to keep playing every week - if they were allowed to bring on an extra player for every goal against above 4 they would end some matches with 19 players on the field (yes, I know that's not quite the new rule!).
Wonder what would have happened if Bournemouth had been allowed to bring on a couple more players for the last 15 minutes of today's game?!!!