Edinburgh and Glasgow do nothing to help Scotland's Heineken Cup cause Of course, doom and gloom have been the familiar bedfellows of Scottish teams in the Heineken Cup down the years. Edinburgh's giddy run to the semi-final of last season's tournament was a blip on a chart of almost persistent failure. Historically, Glasgow have had an aversion to Europe that even Nigel Farage would struggle to match. But in the past they could at least claim that the odds were stacked against them. They lacked the budgets of the European superpowers. Their grounds created no atmosphere. Good players leaked away to sides in England and France. The seeding system worked against them. Excuses, excuses. But many of those excuses no longer hold water. If one thing has marked Dodson's administration more than any other, it is the focus he has put on the professional teams since he took the top job at Murrayfield 14 months ago. The tight purse strings that were strangling Glasgow and Edinburgh's prospects have been loosened. A host of new players have been brought in to bolster the squads. Glasgow have splendid facilities at their new Scotstoun home, but their performance against Castres on Friday was beyond awful. The best you could say about it is that it was not quite as execrable as Edinburgh's against Saracens in October. So why are the Scottish sides still failing? Where is it all going wrong? There's no getting away from the fact that the RaboDirect PRO12 league is a comfort zone. No promotion, no relegation, no cut-and-thrust, two Heineken Cup slots guaranteed. In comparison to the competitive environments in which English and French sides play, it really is too easy. Individually, questions have to be asked of players. After modest successes last season, and after a clear-out of dead wood from the squads, there is a suspicion that a few have been resting on their laurels. Twenty-two players have been brought into the Scottish sides from outside the country. Only five made it into the starting lineups at the weekend. Early days, of course, and one or two have been genuinely impressive, but a few have been crashing disappointments. Their true worth will probably only be known after the Six Nations, when, with Scotland players away, a greater burden will fall on their shoulders. At the end of last season there were mutterings about a golden generation of Scottish players. Since when, the big names among them have performed fitfully. Edinburgh's Ross Ford has been horribly out of sorts. Stuart Hogg has failed to provide the spark he brought last year. Dave Denton has been inconsistent. John Barclay has dipped badly. Great teams are made by the top three or four players being at the top of their games. Exactly the opposite has happened at Edinburgh and Glasgow. Both teams have had calamitous episodes. But who has been steadying the ships? Glasgow's Al Kellock is the most natural captain of his generation, but even he has struggled to right the listing vessel. Edinburgh's Greig Laidlaw has other things to worry about in his game right now, and it would probably be a mercy if the captaincy duties were taken by someone else. Have they been too bold? Good teams evolve, grow together, but the changes at both clubs have been far-reaching and dramatic. There is an impression that players are still in the getting-to-know-you phase. Coaching changes have surely had an impact, too. Gregor Townsend was controversially brought in at Glasgow, taking the place of Sean Lineen. At Edinburgh, forwards coach Tom Smith made way for Neil Back. The fly-half is the heartbeat of any team. Glasgow have chopped and changed between Ruaridh Jackson, Duncan Weir and Scott Wight, so they have effectively been playing a different game every week. At Edinburgh, Greig Laidlaw, converted from scrum-half barely 18 months ago, still lacks the all-round strategic game to go with his unquestioned rugby nous. Let's be honest - Edinburgh enjoyed some outrageous good fortune on their Heineken Cup run last season, winning a succession of games with last-gasp scores. This season, all the luck has tumbled the other way. What the rugby gods giveth, the rugby gods taketh away.